PORTH'S ESSENTIALS OF
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
5TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)TOMMIE L. NORRIS
TEST BANK
Unit 1 • Concepts of Health and Disease
Chapter 1 • Concepts of Health and Disease; Health and
Disease in Populations
1) Health as a dynamic state
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Health
as a Dynamic Process
Question Stem:
A 62-year-old client with stable heart failure says, “I cannot be
,healthy because I have a chronic disease.” The nurse explains
that health is best understood as a dynamic state rather than
the absence of disease. Which statement by the nurse is most
accurate?
A. Health means the body is completely free of structural or
functional change.
B. Health reflects the ability to adapt and maintain function
despite illness.
C. Health is defined only by the presence of normal laboratory
values.
D. Health exists only when the client reports feeling well every
day.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct Answer:
Health is not a fixed condition; it changes over time and
includes the ability to adapt to stressors and maintain function.
A client with chronic disease may still experience a meaningful
level of health if physiologic and psychosocial adaptation is
preserved.
Rationale — Incorrect Options:
A. This is too narrow because many people live with structural
or functional changes and still experience health.
C. Normal labs alone do not capture adaptation, functioning, or
quality of life.
D. Subjective well-being is important, but health is broader than
symptom perception.
,Teaching Point:
Health includes adaptation, function, and coping—not just
absence of disease.
Citation:
Norris, T. L. (2019). Porth’s Essentials of Pathophysiology (5th
ed.). Ch. 1.
2) Disease versus illness
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Disease,
Illness, and Sickness
Question Stem:
A client with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes says, “I do not
feel sick, so I do not think I have a real problem.” The nurse
recognizes that the client is describing which concept?
A. Disease
B. Illness
C. Pathogenesis
D. Morbidity
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct Answer:
Illness refers to the personal experience of symptoms, distress,
or perceived poor health. A person can have disease without
feeling ill, especially early in the course of a chronic condition.
, Rationale — Incorrect Options:
A. Disease is the objective disruption of normal structure or
function, regardless of symptom perception.
C. Pathogenesis is the mechanism by which a disease develops.
D. Morbidity refers to living with disease or its burden in a
population.
Teaching Point:
Illness is the person’s experience; disease is the biologic
disorder.
Citation:
Norris, T. L. (2019). Porth’s Essentials of Pathophysiology (5th
ed.). Ch. 1.
3) Etiology and pathogenesis
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Etiology
and Pathogenesis
Question Stem:
A client asks how smoking can lead to chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD). The nurse explains that smoking is
the disease’s ______, while the cellular and tissue changes that
follow are its ______.
A. prognosis; remission
B. etiology; pathogenesis
C. manifestation; complication
D. incidence; prevalence
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
5TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)TOMMIE L. NORRIS
TEST BANK
Unit 1 • Concepts of Health and Disease
Chapter 1 • Concepts of Health and Disease; Health and
Disease in Populations
1) Health as a dynamic state
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Health
as a Dynamic Process
Question Stem:
A 62-year-old client with stable heart failure says, “I cannot be
,healthy because I have a chronic disease.” The nurse explains
that health is best understood as a dynamic state rather than
the absence of disease. Which statement by the nurse is most
accurate?
A. Health means the body is completely free of structural or
functional change.
B. Health reflects the ability to adapt and maintain function
despite illness.
C. Health is defined only by the presence of normal laboratory
values.
D. Health exists only when the client reports feeling well every
day.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct Answer:
Health is not a fixed condition; it changes over time and
includes the ability to adapt to stressors and maintain function.
A client with chronic disease may still experience a meaningful
level of health if physiologic and psychosocial adaptation is
preserved.
Rationale — Incorrect Options:
A. This is too narrow because many people live with structural
or functional changes and still experience health.
C. Normal labs alone do not capture adaptation, functioning, or
quality of life.
D. Subjective well-being is important, but health is broader than
symptom perception.
,Teaching Point:
Health includes adaptation, function, and coping—not just
absence of disease.
Citation:
Norris, T. L. (2019). Porth’s Essentials of Pathophysiology (5th
ed.). Ch. 1.
2) Disease versus illness
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Disease,
Illness, and Sickness
Question Stem:
A client with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes says, “I do not
feel sick, so I do not think I have a real problem.” The nurse
recognizes that the client is describing which concept?
A. Disease
B. Illness
C. Pathogenesis
D. Morbidity
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct Answer:
Illness refers to the personal experience of symptoms, distress,
or perceived poor health. A person can have disease without
feeling ill, especially early in the course of a chronic condition.
, Rationale — Incorrect Options:
A. Disease is the objective disruption of normal structure or
function, regardless of symptom perception.
C. Pathogenesis is the mechanism by which a disease develops.
D. Morbidity refers to living with disease or its burden in a
population.
Teaching Point:
Illness is the person’s experience; disease is the biologic
disorder.
Citation:
Norris, T. L. (2019). Porth’s Essentials of Pathophysiology (5th
ed.). Ch. 1.
3) Etiology and pathogenesis
Reference: Ch. 1 — Concepts of Health and Disease — Etiology
and Pathogenesis
Question Stem:
A client asks how smoking can lead to chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD). The nurse explains that smoking is
the disease’s ______, while the cellular and tissue changes that
follow are its ______.
A. prognosis; remission
B. etiology; pathogenesis
C. manifestation; complication
D. incidence; prevalence
