– Galen College of Nursing Actual Exam Complete
Questions & Rationales | A&P Fundamentals | Pass
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Organization of the Body & Anatomical Terminology
Q1: A patient is lying on their back with their face upward during a physical examination.
The nurse documents this position as:
A. Prone
B. Supine [CORRECT]
C. Anatomical position
D. Lateral recumbent
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B — supine means lying flat on the back with the face
upward, and you'll see this position all the time in clinical settings. Remember the
difference: supine is face-up, prone is face-down, and anatomical position is standing
upright with palms forward.
Q2: During a surgical procedure, the surgeon makes a cut that divides the body into
anterior and posterior portions. Which plane is being used?
A. Sagittal plane
B. Transverse plane
C. Frontal (coronal) plane [CORRECT]
D. Midsagittal plane
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is C — the frontal or coronal plane runs vertically and splits
the body into front (anterior) and back (posterior) sections. In lab, you would identify
, this by remembering that frontal sounds like "front," and any cut that separates belly
from back is coronal.
Q3: The liver is located in which abdominopelvic quadrant?
A. Left upper quadrant (LUQ)
B. Right upper quadrant (RUQ) [CORRECT]
C. Left lower quadrant (LLQ)
D. Right lower quadrant (RLQ)
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B — the liver sits predominantly under the right dome of
the diaphragm, so it occupies most of the right upper quadrant. This matches what we
covered in A&P I about quadrant localization: RUQ houses the liver, gallbladder, and part
of the stomach and colon.
Q4: A patient steps outside into cold weather and begins to shiver. The hypothalamus
detects the drop in body temperature and triggers shivering to generate heat. Once the
body temperature returns to normal, shivering stops. This is an example of:
A. Positive feedback
B. Negative feedback [CORRECT]
C. Feed-forward mechanism
D. Neural adaptation
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is B — this is a classic negative feedback loop because the
response (shivering/heat production) opposes the original stimulus (cold) and brings
the body back toward its set point. The homeostatic mechanism here involves a
receptor detecting change, a control center in the hypothalamus, and an effector
(skeletal muscles) reversing the stimulus.
Q5: The parietal pericardium is separated from the visceral pericardium by a thin film of
fluid. What is the primary function of this fluid?
A. To transmit electrical impulses to the heart muscle
B. To reduce friction as the heart beats [CORRECT]
C. To transport oxygen to the heart tissue
D. To anchor the heart to the mediastinum
Correct Answer: B