43) You respond to a patient who is choking. The victim is suffering from the most common of
airway obstructions. This would indicate that the problem is in the ________ airway.
A) upper
B) bronchial
C) lower
D) alveoli
Objective: 7.5
44) A 12-year-old female patient is having an asthma attack after participating in some strenuous
activity during recess at school. She’s taken several doses of her own bronchodilator with little
relief. Your partner immediately administers oxygen. Providing supplemental oxygen will
increase the amount of oxygen molecules carried by the ________ in her blood, helping
oxygenate critical organs like the brain.
A) plasma
B) hemoglobin
C) white blood cells
D) albumin
Objective: 7.5
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45) You are caring for a 25-year-old male patient that has been shot once in the head. The patient
is in extremis (near the point of death) with a noticeable breathing pattern that alternates between
no breathing and fast breathing. Your understanding of pathophysiology leads you to believe the
breathing pattern may be due to damage to the section of his brain responsible for respiratory
control, also known as the:
A) medulla oblongata.
B) frontal lobe.
C) cerebellum.
D) thalamus.
Objective: 7.5
46) What do chemoreceptors found in the body and vascular system measure?
A) Low oxygen and high carbon dioxide
B) High oxygen and low carbon dioxide
C) Low oxygen and low carbon dioxide
D) High oxygen and high carbon dioxide
Objective: 7.6
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47) In the normal drive to breathe, chemoreceptors are stimulated by:
A) diffusion.
B) low carbon dioxide.
C) high oxygen.
D) high carbon dioxide.
Objective: 7.6
48) A 19-year-old male is reported to have taken too many narcotic pain pills that were
prescribed for his recent knee surgery. He is extremely sleepy with very shallow breathing. His
color is pale and his SpO2 reading is 84%. His body is probably attempting to compensate for his
poor level of ventilatory effort by stimulating the respiratory system to increase rate and tidal
volume. Normally, respiratory drive is triggered by changing levels of:
A) carbon dioxide.
B) oxygen.
C) pH.
D) glucose.
Objective: 7.6
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49) Shock occurs as a result of which of the following?
A) Inadequate perfusion
B) C/Q match
C) V/Q match
D) Adequate perfusion
Objective: 7.7
50) You are called to a kindergarten class where a boy has fallen while climbing on playground
equipment. The teacher saw him fall and hit his stomach on a step. He is sobbing and holding his
abdomen. As you assess him, you find his skin cool and clammy, his pulse is 132, respiratory is
28. Why is the boy acting this way?
A) He is really upset and wants his mother.
B) He is embarrassed and is afraid that the other students will make fun of him.
C) He possibly has wet his pants and does not want anyone to know.
D) He possibly has internal injuries and is in shock.
Objective: 7.7
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51) Your patient is an 86-year-old male with congestive heart failure. He called for help tonight
because he cannot breathe and feels like he is “drowning in his own lungs.” The patient has had
several heart attacks in the past and he tells you his “heart is shot.” The patient’s cardiac output is
likely diminished because:
A) less blood fills his heart with each contraction (preload is diminished).
B) the heart’s force of contraction is reduced (contractility is diminished).
C) the pressure in the system against which the heart must pump is increased (afterload is
increased).
D) All of the above are true.
Objective: 7.8
52) A 59-year-old male has suffered a severe laceration from a circular saw while cutting wood
in his garage. Upon your arrival, you find the patient sitting on the floor in a pool of blood. He is
extremely pale. Based on your knowledge of pathophysiology, you would expect his body to try
to compensate for the blood loss in all of the following ways, except:
A) sweaty skin.
B) increased pulse.
C) constricted pupils.
D) increased respirations.
Objective: 7.8
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53) The sympathetic nervous response causes which of the following to occur?
A) Breathe slower and deeper, blood vessels to dilate, heart to beat stronger and faster, skin to
sweat, pupils to constrict, and skin to become pale
B) Breathe faster and deeper, blood vessels to constrict, heart to beat stronger and faster, skin to
sweat, pupils to dilate, and skin to become pale
C) Breathe faster and deeper, blood vessels to constrict, heart to beat stronger and faster, skin to
sweat, pupils to constrict, and skin to become warm
D) Breathe faster and deeper, blood vessels to dilate, heart to beat stronger and slower, skin to
sweat, pupils to dilate, and skin to become pale
Objective: 7.8
54) The human body is made up of ________ % water.
A) 60
B) 7.5
C) 17.5
D) 75
Objective: 7.9
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