Respiratory Diseases and Treatment | OCR A-Level Biology B (Advancing Biology) (H422)
Respiratory Diseases and Treatment
- 62 questions
- 4 subtopics
- Biology content, examined on all three papers
- Component 01, Component 02 and Component 03
Respiratory Diseases and Treatment is examined in all three written papers — the specification states that Components 01, 02 and 03 can each assess content from any of the five modules, so nothing is confined to one paper.
It covers Pollutants and the respiratory system, COPD, asthma and lung cancer, treating asthma and medicinal drugs from plants and clinical trials and the role of NICE.
Sample questions from Respiratory Diseases and Treatment
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Pollutants and the respiratory system
Name the component of tobacco smoke that contains carcinogens, and state where its long-term damage is seen.
Show the answer
Tar, which deposits on the lining of the airways and causes mutations in the DNA of the bronchial epithelial cells, leading to lung cancer. -
Pollutants and the respiratory system
How does the risk of lung cancer in someone exposed to asbestos change if they also smoke?
Show the answer
The two risk factors multiply rather than simply add, so a smoker exposed to asbestos has a far greater risk than the sum of the two risks separately. -
COPD, asthma and lung cancer
Explain why a person with emphysema becomes severely breathless.
Show the answer
The merging of alveoli greatly reduces the surface area for gas exchange, and the loss of elastin means the lungs cannot recoil to force air out, so stale air is trapped and less fresh air is drawn in. -
COPD, asthma and lung cancer
State three symptoms of asthma.
Show the answer
Wheezing when breathing out, a tight chest with shortness of breath, and a dry cough that is often worse at night. -
Treating asthma and medicinal drugs from plants
Name the drug obtained from Theobroma cacao and state what it is used to treat.
Show the answer
Theophylline, which is used in the treatment of asthma and COPD. -
Treating asthma and medicinal drugs from plants
Which genus of tree yields the compound from which aspirin is derived?
Show the answer
The willow, Salix. -
Clinical trials and the role of NICE
Why must the people recruited to a trial be representative of the patients who will eventually take the drug?
Show the answer
Age, sex and other conditions affect how a drug is handled by the body, so results from an unrepresentative sample cannot safely be applied to the wider population. -
Clinical trials and the role of NICE
What is meant by a health technology appraisal?
Show the answer
It is an assessment of whether a new drug, device or procedure works well enough and represents good enough value to be funded and used in the health service.
The 4 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Pollutants and the respiratory system | Recall questions on the short-term effects of irritants and tobacco smoke on the airways, carbon monoxide and tar, the long-term diseases smoking causes, asbestos, fibrosis and mesothelioma, and allergic reactions to fungal spores in farm workers. | 14 |
| COPD, asthma and lung cancer | Recall questions on chronic bronchitis and emphysema, elastase and elastin, COPD, what happens in an asthma attack, histamine, triggers and symptoms, the symptoms and effects of lung cancer, and acute and chronic disease. | 16 |
| Treating asthma and medicinal drugs from plants | Recall questions on beta agonists and their side effects, inhaled steroids and inhalers, theophylline from Theobroma cacao, topotecan from Camptotheca acuminata, aspirin from Salix, quinine from Cinchona, and why plants and rainforests matter as sources of drugs. | 15 |
| Clinical trials and the role of NICE | Recall questions on phase I to IV clinical trials, sample size and representative samples, randomisation, placebos and double-blind trials, and the clinical practice, health technology and public health guidance of NICE, quality-adjusted life years and criticisms of its decisions. | 17 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
OCR A-Level Biology B (Advancing Biology) Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 2,895 questions with their answers.