HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM NEWEST 2025/2026
COMPLETE 100 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
An initial assessment finding associated with acute spinal cord injury is _____ the injury.
a. Pain below the level of
b. Loss of autonomic reflexes above
c. Loss of voluntary control below
d. Hyperactive spinal reflexes below - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
Normal activity of the spinal cord cells at and below the level of injury ceases because of loss
of the continuous tonic discharge from the brain or brainstem and inhibition of
suprasegmental impulses immediately after cord injury, thus causing spinal shock.
Pain would not be present below the level of the injury because activity of the cells below the
level of injury ceases.
Autonomic reflexes above the injury remain intact.
A+ 1
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
Activity of the cells below the level of injury cease; thus, hyperactive spinal reflexes below the
injury will not occur.
When a patient asks how bad the injuries will be from a spinal injury, what is the nurse's best
response? It is difficult to know the full extent of the injury because of:
a. Incomplete transection of the spinal cord
b. Swelling within the spinal cord
c. Necrosis of the spinal cord
d. Free radical injury and scarring of the glial cells - Answer ✓✓ANS: B
Cord swelling increases the individual's degree of dysfunction, so it is hard to distinguish
functions permanently lost from those temporarily impaired.
A 20-year-old male is brought to the emergency room (ER) for treatment of injuries received
in a motor vehicle accident. A spinal cord injury is suspected. What two regions should the
nurse assess as they are most likely to be damaged?
a. Cervical and thoracic regions
b. Thoracic and lumbar regions
c. Lumbar and sacral regions
d. Cervical and lumbar regions - Answer ✓✓ANS: D
A+ 2
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
Vertebral injuries in adults occur most often at cervical and lumbar regions as these are the
most mobile portions of the vertebral column.
A 33-year-old male is brought to the ER for treatment of injuries received in a motor vehicle
accident. An MRI reveals an injury of the cervical cord. Cord swelling in this region may be life
threatening because:
a. Increased ICP may occur.
b. Reflexes will be disrupted.
c. Diaphragm function may be impaired.
d. Bladder emptying will not occur. - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
In the cervical region, cord swelling may be life threatening because it may impair the
diaphragm function.
A 15-year-old male is brought to the ER for treatment of injuries received in a motor vehicle
accident. An MRI reveals spinal cord injury, and his body temperature fluctuates markedly.
The most accurate explanation of this phenomenon is that:
a. He developed pneumonia.
b. His sympathetic nervous system has been damaged and thermal control disturbed.
c. He has a brain injury.
d. He has septicemia from an unknown source. - Answer ✓✓ANS: B
A+ 3
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
The patient experiences disturbed thermal control because the sympathetic nervous system is
damaged. The hypothalamus cannot regulate body heat through vasoconstriction and
increased metabolism; therefore, the individual assumes the temperature of the air.
Six weeks ago a female patient suffered a T6 spinal cord injury. She then developed a blood
pressure of 200/120, a severe headache, blurred vision, and bradycardia. What does the
nurse suspect the patient is experiencing?
a. Extreme spinal shock
b. Acute anxiety
c. Autonomic hyperreflexia
d. Parasympathetic areflexia - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
The patient is experiencing autonomic hyperreflexia, which is manifested by paroxysmal
hypertension (up to 300 mm Hg, systolic), a pounding headache, blurred vision, sweating
above the level of the lesion with flushing of the skin, nasal congestion, nausea, piloerection
caused by pilomotor spasm, and bradycardia (30 to 40 beats/min).
A 20-year-old female suffered from spinal cord injury that resulted from a motor vehicle
accident. She had spinal shock lasting 15 days and is now experiencing an uncompensated
cardiovascular response to sympathetic stimulation. What does the nurse suspect caused this
condition?
a. Toxic accumulation of free radicals below the level of the injury
b. Pain stimulation above the level of the spinal cord lesion
c. A distended bladder or rectum
d. An abnormal vagal response - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
A+ 4
FINAL EXAM
HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM NEWEST 2025/2026
COMPLETE 100 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS
(VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY
GRADED A+
An initial assessment finding associated with acute spinal cord injury is _____ the injury.
a. Pain below the level of
b. Loss of autonomic reflexes above
c. Loss of voluntary control below
d. Hyperactive spinal reflexes below - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
Normal activity of the spinal cord cells at and below the level of injury ceases because of loss
of the continuous tonic discharge from the brain or brainstem and inhibition of
suprasegmental impulses immediately after cord injury, thus causing spinal shock.
Pain would not be present below the level of the injury because activity of the cells below the
level of injury ceases.
Autonomic reflexes above the injury remain intact.
A+ 1
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
Activity of the cells below the level of injury cease; thus, hyperactive spinal reflexes below the
injury will not occur.
When a patient asks how bad the injuries will be from a spinal injury, what is the nurse's best
response? It is difficult to know the full extent of the injury because of:
a. Incomplete transection of the spinal cord
b. Swelling within the spinal cord
c. Necrosis of the spinal cord
d. Free radical injury and scarring of the glial cells - Answer ✓✓ANS: B
Cord swelling increases the individual's degree of dysfunction, so it is hard to distinguish
functions permanently lost from those temporarily impaired.
A 20-year-old male is brought to the emergency room (ER) for treatment of injuries received
in a motor vehicle accident. A spinal cord injury is suspected. What two regions should the
nurse assess as they are most likely to be damaged?
a. Cervical and thoracic regions
b. Thoracic and lumbar regions
c. Lumbar and sacral regions
d. Cervical and lumbar regions - Answer ✓✓ANS: D
A+ 2
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
Vertebral injuries in adults occur most often at cervical and lumbar regions as these are the
most mobile portions of the vertebral column.
A 33-year-old male is brought to the ER for treatment of injuries received in a motor vehicle
accident. An MRI reveals an injury of the cervical cord. Cord swelling in this region may be life
threatening because:
a. Increased ICP may occur.
b. Reflexes will be disrupted.
c. Diaphragm function may be impaired.
d. Bladder emptying will not occur. - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
In the cervical region, cord swelling may be life threatening because it may impair the
diaphragm function.
A 15-year-old male is brought to the ER for treatment of injuries received in a motor vehicle
accident. An MRI reveals spinal cord injury, and his body temperature fluctuates markedly.
The most accurate explanation of this phenomenon is that:
a. He developed pneumonia.
b. His sympathetic nervous system has been damaged and thermal control disturbed.
c. He has a brain injury.
d. He has septicemia from an unknown source. - Answer ✓✓ANS: B
A+ 3
, HESI ADVANCED PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
FINAL EXAM
The patient experiences disturbed thermal control because the sympathetic nervous system is
damaged. The hypothalamus cannot regulate body heat through vasoconstriction and
increased metabolism; therefore, the individual assumes the temperature of the air.
Six weeks ago a female patient suffered a T6 spinal cord injury. She then developed a blood
pressure of 200/120, a severe headache, blurred vision, and bradycardia. What does the
nurse suspect the patient is experiencing?
a. Extreme spinal shock
b. Acute anxiety
c. Autonomic hyperreflexia
d. Parasympathetic areflexia - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
The patient is experiencing autonomic hyperreflexia, which is manifested by paroxysmal
hypertension (up to 300 mm Hg, systolic), a pounding headache, blurred vision, sweating
above the level of the lesion with flushing of the skin, nasal congestion, nausea, piloerection
caused by pilomotor spasm, and bradycardia (30 to 40 beats/min).
A 20-year-old female suffered from spinal cord injury that resulted from a motor vehicle
accident. She had spinal shock lasting 15 days and is now experiencing an uncompensated
cardiovascular response to sympathetic stimulation. What does the nurse suspect caused this
condition?
a. Toxic accumulation of free radicals below the level of the injury
b. Pain stimulation above the level of the spinal cord lesion
c. A distended bladder or rectum
d. An abnormal vagal response - Answer ✓✓ANS: C
A+ 4
