Medsci 142 Exam Questions Well Answered Latest Update 2026

MEDSCI 142 EXAM QUESTIONS WELL ANSWERED LATEST UPDATE 2026 The cerebral hemispheres are connected internally by the: - Answers corpus callosum The primary motor area of the cerebral cortex is located in the: - Answers precentral gyrus Lower motor neurons are located in the: - Answers ventral horn of the spinal cord The primary somatosensory cortex is located in the: - Answers parietal Lobe The factor most affecting the rate of impulse conduction is the: - Answers presence or absence of a myelin sheath The cell bodies of first-order neurons in the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway to the cortex are located in the: - Answers posterior root ganglia of spinal nerves The medial lemniscus is a projection tract of second-order neurons extending from the: - Answers medulla to the thalamus What symptoms results from a lesion of the primary motor cortex on the left side of the brain? - Answers a spastic paralysis on the right side of the body The compound that most often acts as a second messenger is: - Answers cyclic AMP What is the neurotransmitter is used by pre-ganglionic nerve axons of both the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous system? - Answers Acetylcholine What connects the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland? - Answers the infundibulum After a satisfying lunch, you are likely to experience the results of: - Answers Upregulated parasympathetic system activation Releasing and inhibiting hormones are produced by the: - Answers hypothalamus to control the anterior pituitary The specific effect of a water-soluble hormone on a target cell depends on the: - Answers specific protein kinase activated. When a steroid hormone binds to its target cell receptor, it: - Answers turns specific genes of the nuclear DNA on or off. The anterior pituitary gland: - Answers synthesises at least 7 different hormones critical in the regulation of all aspects of homeostasis During your rat dissection lab, which of the following structures had the most vascular appearance? a) The spleen b) The pancreas c) The Stomach d) The liver - Answers The spleen The duodenum receives material from which three organs? - Answers stomach, liver & pancreas During a rat dissection, a student encounters a tubular part of the gut. The student observes that most of this tubular section lies outside the abdominal cavity, and she is told that transport is the main function of the section. Little absorption or secretion occurs there. Is the following statement true "it does not receive secretions from either the liver or the pancreas"? - Answers TRUE Which organ is NOT associated with the digestive system? a) the oesophagus b) the spleen c) the pancreas d) the stomach - Answers spleen The frontal lobe of the brain contains: a) Wernicke's area b) Supramarginal gyrus c) Broca's area d) Calcarine sulcus - Answers Broca's area First-order sensory neurons conduct impulses from: - Answers a receptor to the CNS The posterior (dorsal) root ganglion is: - Answers NOT THE the roots of spinal nerves hanging inferiorly from the inferior end of the spinal cord in the vertebral column. Cell bodies of motor neurons to skeletal muscles are located in the: - Answers anterior gray horns Third-order sensory neurons in the posterior column-medial lemniscus pathway extend from the: - Answers thalamus to the somatosensory area of the cerebral cortex Paracrines are: - Answers local hormones that act on neighboring cells Lipid soluble hormones: - Answers must dissociate from a transporter protein in order to leave the blood stream A person with a chronically activated sympathetic autonomic nervous system pathway is likely to have all of the following EXCEPT: - Answers elevated rate of salivation Identify the organ that is NOT associated with the peritoneum in the Rat. - Answers gall bladder For food to be able to pass along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the correct order of the organs is: - Answers oesophagus - stomach - small intestine - caecum - colon - rectum - anus Which of the following structures are you most likely to find in the rat? - Answers adrenal gland A person with a chronically activated sympathetic autonomic nervous system pathway is likely to have all of the following EXCEPT: - Answers elevated rate of salivation The cell bodies of upper motor neurons are: - Answers NOT THE located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord OR located in the basal ganglia The part of a spinal nerve that contains only efferent fibres is the: - Answers ventral root. Fine control of body motor coordination and balance is a function of the: - Answers cerebellum The medial lemniscus: - Answers is located in the brainstem. If a stroke caused damage to the posterior third of the inferior frontal gyrus in the left hemisphere, what would the expected result be? - Answers Motor/Expressive aphasia During the rat dissection laboratory you learned the location of various organs within the thorax and abdomen. In the list of organs which follow, four are located close together and one is remote. Which is the remote organ? - Answers caecum Which of the following statements about the rat liver is correct? - Answers NOT THE Like the stomach and intestine, its blood supply is entirely from systemic arteries. OR Most of the liver lies on the same side of the body as the pancreas. The temporal lobe of the brain contains: - Answers Wernicke's area Afferent nerves conduct nerve impulses from: - Answers NOT THE one effector to another. Cell bodies for upper motor neurons are located in the: - Answers NOT THE anterior gray horns of the spinal cord Paired masses of gray matter within the white matter of the cerebrum that are rich in dopamine and are involved in maintenance of muscle tone are the: - Answers basal ganglia Damage to the cerebellum would result in: - Answers uncoordinated movement When a hormone that uses a second messenger binds to a target cell, the next thing that happens is that: - Answers adenylate cyclase is activated by a G protein Everyone in your lab stream completed their Scantron forms perfectly and you were all awarded a yummy Fruit Burst lolly at the end of the lab. The structure which prevents you from choking from the Fruit Burst lolly is called the: - Answers epiglottis The parietal lobe of the brain contains: - Answers Primary somatosensory cortex The posterior column tracts convey ALL of the following, EXCEPT: - Answers sensory impulses regarding pain When you started your rat dissection, the first serous membrane which you cut with scissors was the: - Answers parietal peritoneum The spinothalamic tracts convey: - Answers sensory impulses regarding temperature. The basal ganglia consists of all of the following structures, EXCEPT: - Answers Cerebellum The brain stem is made up of the: - Answers medulla oblongata, pons, and midbrain The peritoneal, pleural and pericardial cavities of the rat share all of the following characteristics, EXCEPT: - Answers there is one of each of them The fibres responsible for conveying discriminative touch and pressure sensations from the skin to the spinal cord: - Answers are heavily myelinated fibres The corticospinal (pyramidal) tract has all of the following characteristics, EXCEPT: - Answers where affected by a disease results in a flaccid paralysis Which of the following symptoms results from a lesion of the primary motor cortex on the right side of the brain? - Answers a spastic paralysis on the left side of the body The lateral spinothalamic tract conveys: - Answers sensory impulses regarding pain Injury to lower motor neurons results in: - Answers flaccid paralysis Which of the following statements is correct about the left ventricle? - Answers contains oxygenated blood Which of the following is NOT true of the mitral valve of the heart? - Answers It is the outlet valve of the left ventricle The myocardium is made of: - Answers cardiac muscle Blood flows from the pulmonary veins into the: - Answers left atrium During the normal cardiac cycle, the atria contract when they are initially stimulated by the: - Answers SA node All deoxygenated blood returning from the systemic circulation flows into the: - Answers right atrium During the cardiac cycle, the volume of blood in the ventricles: - Answers decreases most rapidly early in the phase of ventricular ejection The function of the chordae tendineae is to: - Answers prevent eversion of the AV valves during ventricular systole The role of the papillary muscles is to: - Answers tighten the chordae tendineae by contracting during ventricular systole The part of the heart's conduction system which conducts most slowly is the: - Answers fibres of the AV node What separates the frontal lobe of the brain from the temporal lobe? - Answers lateral fissure A student studies a plastinated specimen of a human brain sectioned on the midline. Viewing the medial surface, all of the following would be visible, except for the: - Answers tail of the caudate nucleus Which of the following structures, which are involved in the production of cerebrospinal fluid or its flow through the brain, is closest to the midbrain? - Answers Cerebral aqueduct The bicuspid valve is located between the: - Answers left atrium and the left ventricle There is a semilunar valve between the: - Answers right ventricle and the pulmonary trunk The atrioventricular valves close when the: - Answers ventricles contract Blood flows from the superior vena cava into the: - Answers right atrium Atrioventricular valves open when: - Answers ventricular pressure falls below atrial pressure The function of the chordae tendineae is to: - Answers prevent eversion of the AV valves during ventricular systole Which of the following occurs when the aortic and mitral valves are both closed? - Answers pressure in the left ventricle is either rapidly increasing or rapidly decreasing Which structures, seen in a coronal section of the brain, are all white matter? - Answers corpus callosum, cerebral peduncles & internal capsule A student studies a plastinated specimen of a human brain sectioned on the midline. Viewing the medial surface, all of the following would be visible, except for the: - Answers temporal lobe Coronary arteries: - Answers are classified as muscular arteries Blood flows into the coronary arteries from the: - Answers ascending aorta The SA node is located: - Answers in the right atrial wall near the opening of the superior vena cava During the cardiac cycle the papillary muscles contract when: - Answers the mitral and tricuspid valves are closing All of the following are TRUE regarding the ventricles, EXCEPT: - Answers the left ventricle expels a greater volume of blood per beat than does the right ventricle Which of the following statements about the anatomy of the human heart is INCORRECT? - Answers The apex of the heart is comprised mainly of the right ventricle All of the following statements about the fibrous skeleton of the human heart is correct, EXCEPT: - Answers it is made of a dense sheet of modified cardiac muscle fibres A student views a plastinated RIGHT brain hemisphere from the lateral side. Which of the following would be visible to her? - Answers superior temporal gyrus The fibres responsible for conveying pain and temperature sensations from the skin to the spinal cord are: - Answers unmyelinated fibres The initiation of the heart beat is the responsibility of the: - Answers SA node Where the great arteries and veins attach at the base of the human heart: - Answers NOT THE the coronary arteries arise from the base of the pulmonary trunk OR semilunar valves prevent backflow of blood into the vena cavas OR the pulmonary veins are thick-walled and elastic All of the following statements about the human cardiovascular system is correct, EXCEPT: a) The system contains two pumps, each of a single effective chamber b) The atria are collecting/reservoir chambers upstream of the pumps c) Portal veins are vessels which link two capillary beds d) All arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart - Answers All arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart In the human brain, the gyrus containing the primary auditory cortex is: - Answers superior temporal Which of the following lists the elements of the heart's conduction system in the correct order? - Answers SA node, AV node, AV bundle, bundle branches, conduction myofibres The space between the parietal and visceral layers of the pericardium is normally filled with: - Answers serous fluid What are the four 'landmarks', visible on the lateral side of the human brain, that define the lobes? - Answers lateral fissure, preoccipital notch, end of parieto-occipital sulcus & central sulcus. Which one of the following is found on the right side of the heart? - Answers sinoatrial node Which of the following lists contains ONLY forebrain structures? - Answers corpus callosum, thalamus, hypothalamus The pulmonary and aortic valves of the heart lack chordae tendineae because: - Answers when the valves close the cusps remain stable because of their cup-shape The symptoms displayed by a patient with damage to the Supramarginal and Angular gyri would be: - Answers unable to understand reading and writing Which of the following landmarks does NOT serve as a boundary separating lobes of the human brain? - Answers calcarine sulcus The second heart sound (dupp) is created by the: - Answers turbulance generated as a result of the closing of the semilunar valves All valves are closed during: - Answers isovolumetric contraction On an ECG, depolarisation of the ventricles is represented by the: - Answers QRS complex Cardiac output refers to the - Answers volume of blood ejected from the left ventricle per minute Baroreceptors are located in the: - Answers walls of the aorta and carotid arteries. A decrease in arterial blood pressure would most likely and immediately lead to: - Answers decreased afterload The function of baroreceptors is to monitor changes in: - Answers blood pressure. An increase in venous return most directly affects: - Answers stroke volume. An increase in cardiac sympathetic activity would most likely and immediately: - Answers increase stroke volume Blood flow to the muscles increases if: - Answers vasodilation in the arterioles supplying the muscles increases. The term afterload refers to: - Answers the pressure that must be overcome before semilunar valves can open. If acetylcholine is applied to the heart, but cardiac output is to remain constant, which of the following would have to happen? - Answers Stroke volume must increase. The following pairs link function to structure. Which pair is INCORRECT? - Answers primary visual cortex - superior frontal cortex The Frank-Starling Law of the Heart states that: - Answers a greater force of contraction can occur if the heart muscle is stretched first. With regards to the Frank-Starling law of the heart, an increase in venous return to the heart will result in: - Answers an increase in end diastolic volume With regard to resistance in the cardiovascular system, the parameter with the largest effect is - Answers radius The diameter of blood vessels most directly affects: - Answers resistance. The QRS complex of the ECG appears as the: - Answers ventricles depolarise During diastole, a chamber of the heart - Answers relaxes and fills with blood Blood pressure would be highest in which of the following vessels? - Answers brachiocephalic trunk. Of the pressure involved in determining net filtration pressure, the highest pressure at the venous end of a capillary is usually: - Answers blood colloid osmotic pressure. The viscosity of blood most directly affects: - Answers systemic vascular resistance. On an ECG, depolarisation of the atria is represented by the: - Answers P wave Electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve would result in: - Answers bradycardia During the cardiac cycle, the amount of blood remaining in the ventricle when the semilunar valve closes is the: - Answers end-systolic volume The vasomotor region of the cardiovascular center directly controls: - Answers peripheral resistance by changing the diameter of blood vessels. Starling's Law of the Capillaries states that: - Answers the volume of fluid reabsorbed at the venous end of a capillary is nearly equal to the volume of fluid filtered out at the arterial end. The difference between a person's maximum cardiac output and resting cardiac output is called the: - Answers cardiac reserve. An increase in blood pressure results in: - Answers increased firing rate in the aortic baroreceptor nerve Blood flows most slowly through: - Answers capillaries because their total cross-sectional area is the largest. Angina pectoris is: - Answers pain accompanying myocardial ischemia. The component of the conduction system providing the only electrical connection between the atria and the ventricles is the: - Answers atrioventricular bundle If plasma proteins are lost due to kidney disease, then which of the following pressure changes occur as a direct result? - Answers Blood colloid osmotic pressure decreases. Increased stimulation of the heart by the cardiac accelerator nerves causes: - Answers stimulation by norepinephrine of the SA node and of the beta receptors on the cardiac muscle fibers of the ventricles.