医学英语综合教程课文和翻译.docVIP

Unit2. Cells and Aging Aging is a normal process accompanied by a progressive alteration of the body ’s homeostatic adaptive responses; the specialized branch of medicine that deals with the medical problems and care of elderly person is called geriatrics. 衰总是一种正常的生理过程，伴有机体内环境稳固适应性应答的进行性改变。 研究老年人的健康问题和保健的一门特别医学分支被称作老年病学 The obvious characteristics of aging are well known; graying and loss of hair, loss of teeth, wrinkling of skin, decreased muscle mass, and increased fat deposits. The physiological signs of aging are gradual deterioration in function and capacity to maintain a constant internal environment (homeostasis) in response to changes in temperature, diet, and oxygen supply. These sings of aging are related to a net decrease in the number of cells in the body and to the dysfunctioning of the cells that remain. 衰老的显然特点尽人皆知：头发花白和零落，牙齿零落，皮肤起皱，肌肉减少， 脂肪积蓄增添。衰老的生理征兆是机体对环境刺激反响的功能和能力的渐渐退化如 同保持机体内环境稳固来应付温度，饮食和氧气供给改变的能力减退相同，机体新 陈代谢也减慢了。衰老的这些迹象与机体中细胞数目的净减少以及存余细胞的功能 杂乱相关。 The extracellular components of tissues also change with age. Collagen fibers, responsible for the strength in tendons, increase in number and change in quality with aging. These changes in the collagen of arterial walls are as much responsible for their loss of extensibility as are the deposits associated with atherosclerosis, the deposition of fatty materials in the arterial walls. Elastin, another extracellular component, is responsible for the elasticity of blood vessels and skin. It thickens, fragments, and acquires a greater affinity for calcium with age –  changes that may also be associated with the development of atherosclerosis. 组织的细胞外成分也跟着年纪的变化而变化。负责肌腱力量的胶原纤维的数目 增添，而质量却跟着衰老降低。 动脉壁上的胶原质的变化与动脉壁伸展性丧失相关， 正如动脉粥样硬化，即动脉壁脂肪物质聚积造成动脉壁伸展性缺失相同。弹性蛋白 是另一种细胞外成分，与血管和皮肤的弹性相关， 跟着年纪的变化，它变粗，易断 裂而且与钙有很大的亲和力，这些变化可能也与动脉粥样硬化的发生相关。 Glucose, the most abundant sugar in the body, may also play a role in the aging process. According to one hypothesis, glucose is added, haphazardly, to proteins inside and outside cells