WGU D236 PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OA
AND PA 2025/2026 BANK VERSION AND
STUDY GUIDE | ACTUAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AND
RATIONALES | EXPERT VERIFIED FOR
GUARANTEED PASS | LATEST UPDATE
/BRAND NEW
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT
Why are some infections harder on children while other
infections are harder on the elderly? -
....ANSWER...Children have not been exposed to many
pathogens yet, so they lack memory cells and have not
built-up immunity yet.
The elderly have a depleted naïve T cell population from
years of battling infections, so the likelihood of getting a
match is less.
Describe how and why our injury response results in the
signs of redness, swelling, heat, and pain?
,(Be sure to use chemokines, histamine, and vasodilation in
your response.) - ....ANSWER...An injury causes an
inflammatory response which is responsible for the
redness, swelling, heat and pain. Upon injury, cells on the
surface begin to release chemokines which act as
messengers that something has happened.
Mast cells are also alerted to release histamines which travel
to the endothelial cells of capillaries and causes
vasodilation, which is related to swelling and redness.
Vasodilation also causes the capillaries to become leaky
which allows for histamines, chemokines and even
pathogen particles to enter the blood stream where they are
met by neutrophils (non-specific) which start to adhere to
the capillary wall and squeeze through the leaky holes
(diapedesis or extravasation) to phagocytose pathogens and
damaged cells.
Dendritic cells just under the surface of skin are also
activated to phagocytose foreign particles. Other B cells, T
cells (specific) and the complement system also squeeze
through the capillary wall to create an area of congestion.
,Explain dominant vs recessive genetic diseases.
What is a "carrier" in recessive genetic diseases? -
....ANSWER...The human genome contains 23 pairs of
chromosome (22 autosomes and 1 pair of sex
chromosomes). The pairs are homologous and contain the
same genes in the same order. This means that every gene
has a copy, one inherited from your mother and the other
from your father.
Not all versions of a gene (alleles) are treated the same by
the cell. Some are expressed over others. A dominant gene
is a gene that is expressed, even if you only have one copy.
The dominant gene will be expressed over the recessive
gene, which must have two copies to be expressed.
In a dominant genetic disease, all it takes is one copy of
the disease to have the disease. Recessive genetic diseases
require that the individual gets two copies of the gene to
have the disease.
, Someone who is a carrier for a recessive genetic disease is
healthy, but contains a copy of the disease gene,
potentially passing it to their offspring.
Describe how to determine the probability of clinical
outcomes given information about the parents (eg two
heterozygous carriers of sickle cell disease). -
....ANSWER...Punnett Squares can be used to determine
the potential probabilities of certain traits being passed to
offspring. If you know the genotypes of each parent (ie
homozygous or heterozygous for the trait), you can
determine the possible outcomes.
Heterozygous means that the parent has one copy of each
gene, homozygous means the parent has the same copy for
each gene (either both dominant genes or both recessive
genes).
What are some of the consequences of alcohol exposure in
pregnancy? - ....ANSWER...ND-PAE (neurobehavioral
disorder-prenatal alcohol exposure) can cause birth defects
and developmental disabilities (fetal alcohol spectrum
disorders-FASDs).
AND PA 2025/2026 BANK VERSION AND
STUDY GUIDE | ACTUAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AND
RATIONALES | EXPERT VERIFIED FOR
GUARANTEED PASS | LATEST UPDATE
/BRAND NEW
OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT
Why are some infections harder on children while other
infections are harder on the elderly? -
....ANSWER...Children have not been exposed to many
pathogens yet, so they lack memory cells and have not
built-up immunity yet.
The elderly have a depleted naïve T cell population from
years of battling infections, so the likelihood of getting a
match is less.
Describe how and why our injury response results in the
signs of redness, swelling, heat, and pain?
,(Be sure to use chemokines, histamine, and vasodilation in
your response.) - ....ANSWER...An injury causes an
inflammatory response which is responsible for the
redness, swelling, heat and pain. Upon injury, cells on the
surface begin to release chemokines which act as
messengers that something has happened.
Mast cells are also alerted to release histamines which travel
to the endothelial cells of capillaries and causes
vasodilation, which is related to swelling and redness.
Vasodilation also causes the capillaries to become leaky
which allows for histamines, chemokines and even
pathogen particles to enter the blood stream where they are
met by neutrophils (non-specific) which start to adhere to
the capillary wall and squeeze through the leaky holes
(diapedesis or extravasation) to phagocytose pathogens and
damaged cells.
Dendritic cells just under the surface of skin are also
activated to phagocytose foreign particles. Other B cells, T
cells (specific) and the complement system also squeeze
through the capillary wall to create an area of congestion.
,Explain dominant vs recessive genetic diseases.
What is a "carrier" in recessive genetic diseases? -
....ANSWER...The human genome contains 23 pairs of
chromosome (22 autosomes and 1 pair of sex
chromosomes). The pairs are homologous and contain the
same genes in the same order. This means that every gene
has a copy, one inherited from your mother and the other
from your father.
Not all versions of a gene (alleles) are treated the same by
the cell. Some are expressed over others. A dominant gene
is a gene that is expressed, even if you only have one copy.
The dominant gene will be expressed over the recessive
gene, which must have two copies to be expressed.
In a dominant genetic disease, all it takes is one copy of
the disease to have the disease. Recessive genetic diseases
require that the individual gets two copies of the gene to
have the disease.
, Someone who is a carrier for a recessive genetic disease is
healthy, but contains a copy of the disease gene,
potentially passing it to their offspring.
Describe how to determine the probability of clinical
outcomes given information about the parents (eg two
heterozygous carriers of sickle cell disease). -
....ANSWER...Punnett Squares can be used to determine
the potential probabilities of certain traits being passed to
offspring. If you know the genotypes of each parent (ie
homozygous or heterozygous for the trait), you can
determine the possible outcomes.
Heterozygous means that the parent has one copy of each
gene, homozygous means the parent has the same copy for
each gene (either both dominant genes or both recessive
genes).
What are some of the consequences of alcohol exposure in
pregnancy? - ....ANSWER...ND-PAE (neurobehavioral
disorder-prenatal alcohol exposure) can cause birth defects
and developmental disabilities (fetal alcohol spectrum
disorders-FASDs).
