Exam 1: NUR2063 / NUR 2063 V1 (Latest 2025 / 2026 Update) Essentials of Pathophysiology | Questions and Verified Answers | 100% Correct Solutions | Grade A – Rasmussen

Exam 1: NUR2063 / NUR 2063 V1 (Latest 2025 / 2026 Update) Essentials of Pathophysiology | Questions and Verified Answers | 100% Correct Solutions | Grade A – Rasmussen Question: What is Pathophysiology Answer: is the study of what happens when the normal anatomy and physiology go wrong, causing disorder and disease process of the human body. Question: What 4 things does pathophysiology include? Answer: Etiology, Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations, and Treatment Implications Question: What is etiology Answer: study of causes or reasons for phenomena. Includes Idiopathic conditions that have an unknown origin or cause. Question: What is pathogenesis? Answer: development or evolution of disease from initial stimulus to the expression of manifestations as time occurs. Question: What are clinical manifestations? Answer: Signs and symptoms of disorder. Question: What are treatment implications? Answer: Which combine the etology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations to determine the best treatment of condition per individual. Question: What are signs? Answer: Objective or observed manifestations of disease. Question: What are symptoms? Answer: Subjective feelings of abnormality in the body. Question: What is objective data Answer: What you observe and can measure. Question: What are examples of objective data? Answer: rash, low blood pressure, bleeding Question: What is subjective data? Answer: What the patient may report to you Question: What are examples of subjective data? Answer: pain scale, they feel suicidal, fatigued. Question: What is epidemiology? Answer: study of the patterns of disease involving populations. Based on the spread and contact of diseases in people. Question: What are the levels of disease prevention? Answer: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary Question: Explain Primary Prevention Answer: "Preventing"; altering susceptibility or reducing exposure of disease for people. Question: Examples of Primary Prevention Answer: Vaccinations and Handwashing Question: Explain Secondary Prevention Answer: "Screening"; early detection, screening, and management of disease to catch disease early before it spreads Question: Examples of Secondary Prevention Answer: PAP smears for STDs, lab work for HBA1C check, mammogram Question: Explain Tertiary Prevention Answer: "Treating" and preventing further complications from a disorder or disease after the person has the condition Question: Examples of Tertiary Prevention Answer: Rehab for hip surgery, relearning ADL's after amputation, Wound care after stroke to prevent pressure ulcers. Question: What is homeostasis? Answer: a state of equilibrium in which all body systems are in balance and the body is at its most optimal in functioning. Stable. Question: What is allostasis? Answer: ability to successfully adapt to challenges. It is not a balance but an attempt to adapt to achieve homeostasis. Example: sweating to lower ones body temp. Question: Stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome Answer: alarm, resistance, exhaustion Question: Explain alarm stage of general adaptation syndrome Answer: Where the sympathetic nervous system is activated due to stress. Fight or Flight responses are activated and energy is given off by the HPA axis to flee or fight the danger ahead. Blood must be redirected to vital organs in this stage to give the organs energy to work. Question: Explain Resistance stage of general adaptation syndrome Answer: the activity of the Parasympathetic Nervous system and the endocrine system to return the body to homeostasis. The body should ultimately adapt to the stressor. Question: Explain the exhaustion stage of general adaptation syndrome Answer: Occurs when the stressor is not removed or overcome in the body. The body can no longer return to homeostasis after prolonged exposure to stressor. It causes the body to be depleted and damaged that can lead to disease or death. Question: What complications can occur if stressors are not resolved from general adaptation syndrome? Answer: disease can occur physically and mentally, such as anxiety, depression, headaches, insomnia, infection, and heart disease. Question: Name the hormones released during alarm stage of general adaptation syndrome Answer: Corticotrophin releasing hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone, catecholamines( norepinephrine and epinephrine) and cortisol Question: Explain the Role of corticotrophin releasing hormone in alarm stage Answer: activates the sympathetic nervous system and adrenocorticotropic hormone. Question: Explain the role of norepinephrine during alarm stage Answer: helps to slow down certain organs such as the GI and GU systems to prepare the body for fight or flight. Question: Explain the role of epinephrine during alarm stage Answer: Stimulates the fight or flight response by increasing heart rate, bronchodilation of the lungs to increase respirations and amount of air let in, dilates pupils to let more light in, stimulates more glucose to be released. Question: Explain the role of cortisol during alarm stage Answer: released by ACTH reaching the adrenal cortex, this allows for more energy creation to increase glucose and to reduce inflammation. Suppresses the immune system. Question: Explain the symptoms of a sympathetic nervous system response Answer: Pupils dilate, salivation inhibited, increase in HR, bronchodilation of airway, increased respirations, glucose release, inhibit GI/GU. Question: Explain the symptoms of a parasympathetic nervous system response Answer: Pupils constrict, salivation occurs, decreased HR, bronchoconstriction, decreased respiration, GI/GU systems resume action. Question: role of nucleus Answer: control center of the cell, where DNA and genes are stored, produces mRNA to help build body proteins. Can have 1 or more (liver cells), or none (RBCs). Question: role of mitochondria Answer: Powerhouse of the cell. Provides energy in ATP, and has its own set of DNA. Question: Role of ribosome Answer: produces RNA to produce proteins through transcriptions of DNA and translation of RNA into a protein. Can be floating or attached to the Rough ER. Question: Role of lysosomes Answer: helps breakdown and digest dead cells, organelles, or tissues. Question: Role of rough ER Answer: folded membranes that move proteins around the cell. Has ribosomes attached to it and helps produce proteins for the cell membranes. Question: role of smooth ER Answer: ribosomes not attached to smooth ER, helps in the Liver and kidney cells to detoxify, lipid metabolism, synthesis of hormones, and calcium storage. Question: Role of peroxisome Answer: membrane cells that contain oxidase and catalase to detoxify harmful chemicals, breakdown hydrogen peroxide and filter metabolic wastes. Question: Role of Golgi body Answer: stacked membranes that act as the sorter and packager for proteins from the ER. Helps move things in and out of cell. Question: Where is extracellular fluid found? Answer: outside the cell Question: Where is ECF located in the body? Answer: found in the plasma, lymph, CSF, eye humors, synovial fluid, and the GI secretions. Question: Where is intracellular fluid located? Answer: inside the cell Question: Where is intracellular fluid found in the body? Answer: found inside of cells, cytosol. Question: Which electrolytes are found at high concentrations in the ECF? Answer: sodium, chloride and sodium bicarb. Question: Which electrolytes are found at high concentrations in the ICF Answer: potassium, magnesium and hydrogen phosphate, and low concentration of sodium and chloride. Question: What is passive transport? Answer: substances move from a high to low concentration, without energy. Natural Question: What is active transport? Answer: substances move against their concentration gradient with the help of ATP. Low to High. Question: What is diffusion? Answer: molecules and ions distributing evenly in the environment. Passive transport used. Goes from high to low concentration and higher the concentration, the faster the spread. Question: What is osmosis? Answer: allows for fluids to distribute in between the interstitial spaces and intracellular compartments. Water goes low to high. High: high solute concentration to low water concentration Low: low solute concentration to high water concentration Question: Examples of ways fluid enters the body (Intake) Answer: Food, Drink, IV access. Question: Examples of ways fluid exits the body (output) Answer: Sweat, Urine, stool, water vapor from lungs, wound drainages, NG secretions. Question: What is dehydration? Answer: when water output exceeds intake over time. Water from ECF is lost, causing cells to shrink as concentration increases. Question: What are the causes of dehydration? Answer: hemorrhage, severe burns, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, water deprivation, diuretic abuse, DM. Question: What are the signs and symptoms one may have dehydration? Answer: dry mouth, extreme thirst, dry skin, decreased urine output, weight loss, mental confusion, hypovolemic shock. Question: What is hypotonic hydration? Answer: Over hydration or water intoxication. When too much water is taken in too fast or the kidneys cannot rid the fluid fast enough (renal failure). Concentration of water in ECF increases, while osmolarity decreases, causing cells to swell. Question: What things can cause hypertonic hydration? Answer: Too much fluids through IV, renal failure, drinking too much water too fast. ` (Hyponatremia). Question: What are the signs and symptoms of hypotonic hydration? Answer: leads to Nausea and Vomiting, muscles cramping, cerebral edema (brain cells can swell and burst) , convulsions, coma and death. Question: What is edema? Answer: accumulation of fluid in the interstitial space. Leads to tissue swelling. Question: What are the causes of edema? Answer: Increase in the forces that move fluid from capillaries to interstitial compartments or decrease in the opposite. Question: What are some of the factors that encourage edema? Answer: Increase in hydrostatic forces in the capillaries that increases the blood volume, increased capillary permeability, CHF, HYPTN, decrease in plasma proteins like albumin (causes liver to hold onto more water- ascites, cirrhosis), blockage of lymph drainage. Question: Lab values for Sodium Answer: 135-145 mEq/L Question: Lab values for Potassium Answer: 3.5-5.0 mEq/L Question: Lab values for Calcium Answer: 8.5-10.2 mEq/L Question: Lab Values for Magnesium Answer: 1.8-2.5 mEq/L Question: Lab Values for Phosphate Answer: 2.5-4.5 mEq/L Question: What is hypernatremia? Answer: high sodium Na > 145 Question: What things can cause hypernatremia? Answer: dehydration, loss of water form ECF Question: What are the signs and symptoms of hypernatremia? Answer: excess thirst, lethargy, muscle twitching, convulsions. Question: What is hyponatremia? Answer: low sodium Na < 135 Question: What things can cause hyponatremia? Answer: water retention, loss of Na from vomiting, diarrhea, burns, too much water. Question: What are the signs and symptoms of hyponatremia? Answer: Neurological dysfunction from swelling of the brain. Question: What is hyperkalemia? Answer: high potassium K> 5.0 Question: What things can cause hyperkalemia? Answer: renal failure, severe burns, injury, too much K supplements. Question: What are the signs and symptoms of hyperkalemia? Answer: Intestinal cramping, diarrhea, irregular heart rate, EKG changes. Question: What is hypokalemia? Answer: Low potassium K<3.5 Question: What things can cause hypokalemia? Answer: Vomiting, diarrhea, improper diet, npo, lasix use, increased insulin and epinephrine use. Question: What are the signs and symptoms of hypokalemia? Answer: Muscle weakness, paralysis, irregular heart rate, EKG changes. Question: What is hypercalemia? Answer: High Calcium Ca> 10.2 Question: What things can cause hypercalemia? Answer: overactive parathyroid, excessive vitamin D, leukemia, (osteoclasts breaking down too much). Question: What are signs and symptoms of hypercalcemia/hypermagnesemia? Answer: diminished reflexes, headaches, confusion, lethargy, muscle weakness, kidney stones, cardiac arrhythmias. Question: What is hypocalcemia? Answer: low calcium Ca<8.5 Question: What are causes of hypocalcemia? Answer: vitamin D deficiency, burns, poor nutrition, alkalosis, underactive thyroid. Question: What are signs and symptoms of hypocalcemia/ hypomagnesemia? Answer: increased muscle excitability, hyperactive reflexes, tingling in the muscles, tetany, positive trousseau and chvostek signs, tremors. Question: What is hypermagnesemia? Answer: High Magnesium Mg> 2.5 Question: What things can cause hypermagnesemia? Answer: renal failure, excessive laxative/ antacid use. Question: What is hypomagnesemia? Answer: Low magnesium Mg< 1.8 Question: What things can cause hypo magnesemia? Answer: low intake, alcoholism, malnutrition, pregnancy, diarrhea, diuretics. Question: What is hyperphosphatemia? Answer: High phosphates P>4.5 Question: What things can cause hyperphosphatemia? Answer: renal failure, hypoparathyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, hypothyroidism, laxatives, Question: What is hypophosphatemia? Answer: Low phosphates P< 2.5 Question: What things can cause hypophosphatemia? Answer: hyperparathyroidism, alkalosis,deficient intake, vitamin D deficiency, alcoholism, low dietary intake. Question: What electrolyte balance do we see with a positive chovstek and trousseaus sign? Answer: Hypocalcemia Question: What is a positive trousseaus sign? Answer: BP. When pressure is on the arm, the hand will cramp and curl. Question: What is a positive chvostek sign? Answer: Tap on the face and the person's eye/cheek twitch. Question: What are electrolyte reservoirs? Answer: where electrolytes are found at an abundance, usually in the bones. Question: Which electrolytes are found in the bones? Answer: Calcium, phosphate and magnesium Question: What are the cardinal signs and symptoms of inflammation? Answer: Redness Heat Swelling Pain Loss of function