NR 224 EXAM 2 LATEST QUESTIONS AND 100%
CORRECT AND WELL DETAILED
ANSWERS|2025/2026
Ascending colon - ANSWER Very liquid stool, no pattern
Transverse colon - ANSWER Stool becoming more formed, but still liquid
Descending colon - ANSWER Stool losing water to reabsorption, becoming thick and
formed
Sigmoid colon - ANSWER Formed stool
Rectum - ANSWER Most formed, storage until evacuation occurs (if not evacuated, site
of fecal impaction)
Normal abdomen assessment - ANSWER Soft
Non-distended
Non-tender
Symmetrical
Active bowel sounds x4 quadrants
Abnormal abdomen assessment - ANSWER Firm
Distended
Tender
Asymmetrical
Absent bowel sounds (paralytic ileus)
1
,Peristalsis - ANSWER Under control of the nervous system
Contractions occur every 3-12 minutes
Mass peristalsis sweeps occur ___ to ____ times each 24 hour period - ANSWER 1-4
____ to ____ of food waste is excreted in stool within 24 hours - ANSWER 1/3 to 1/2
(normal transit time)
Rapid transit times - ANSWER Loose stools, diarrhea, less absorption of nutrients, less
water reabsorbed
Delayed transit times - ANSWER Constipation, too much water reabsorbed, dry stools
Type I stool - ANSWER Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
Type 2 stool - ANSWER Sausage-shaped but lumpy
Type 3 stool - ANSWER Like a sausage, but with cracks on its surface
Type 4 stool - ANSWER Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5 stool - ANSWER Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
Type 6 stool - ANSWER Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7 stool - ANSWER Watery, no solid pieces. Entirely liquid
2
,Variables influencing bowel elimination - ANSWER Age/developmental considerations
Personal habits/daily patterns
Food/fluid intake
Physical activity and muscle tone
Lifestyle, psychological variables
Pathologic conditions (disease, pain, pg)
Medications
Diagnostic tests
Surgery and anethesia
Constipation foods - ANSWER Cheese
Lean meat
Eggs
Pasta
Foods with laxative effect - ANSWER Fruits and vegetables
Bran
Chocolate
Alcohol
Coffee
Gas-producing foods - ANSWER Onions
Cabbage
Beans
Cauliflower
Constipation - ANSWER No BM in 3 days
3
, Act on/before day 2
-Hard, dry stool - difficult to eliminate
-Low or inactive bowel sounds
-Excessive straining, bloating, and the sensation of full bowel
-Assess for paralytic ileus if pt had surgery, anesthetic
Impaction - ANSWER Collection of hardened feces
Occurs in rectum
Results from unrelieved constipation
Often liquid stool is symptom
Ask when last normal formed BM was
Diarrhea - ANSWER Increase in the number of stools and the passage of liquid, unformed
feces
Often intestinal cramping
Usually protective response
Large amounts of fluids and electrolytes lost
Often a symptom of illness/infection
Fecal incontinence - ANSWER Inability to control passage of feces and gas from the anus
Can be neurological in nature
Flatulence - ANSWER Excess trapped gas
Cal result from slowed motility
Can be painful, embarrassing
Hemorrhoids - ANSWER Dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum
Can be internal or external
4
CORRECT AND WELL DETAILED
ANSWERS|2025/2026
Ascending colon - ANSWER Very liquid stool, no pattern
Transverse colon - ANSWER Stool becoming more formed, but still liquid
Descending colon - ANSWER Stool losing water to reabsorption, becoming thick and
formed
Sigmoid colon - ANSWER Formed stool
Rectum - ANSWER Most formed, storage until evacuation occurs (if not evacuated, site
of fecal impaction)
Normal abdomen assessment - ANSWER Soft
Non-distended
Non-tender
Symmetrical
Active bowel sounds x4 quadrants
Abnormal abdomen assessment - ANSWER Firm
Distended
Tender
Asymmetrical
Absent bowel sounds (paralytic ileus)
1
,Peristalsis - ANSWER Under control of the nervous system
Contractions occur every 3-12 minutes
Mass peristalsis sweeps occur ___ to ____ times each 24 hour period - ANSWER 1-4
____ to ____ of food waste is excreted in stool within 24 hours - ANSWER 1/3 to 1/2
(normal transit time)
Rapid transit times - ANSWER Loose stools, diarrhea, less absorption of nutrients, less
water reabsorbed
Delayed transit times - ANSWER Constipation, too much water reabsorbed, dry stools
Type I stool - ANSWER Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
Type 2 stool - ANSWER Sausage-shaped but lumpy
Type 3 stool - ANSWER Like a sausage, but with cracks on its surface
Type 4 stool - ANSWER Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5 stool - ANSWER Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
Type 6 stool - ANSWER Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7 stool - ANSWER Watery, no solid pieces. Entirely liquid
2
,Variables influencing bowel elimination - ANSWER Age/developmental considerations
Personal habits/daily patterns
Food/fluid intake
Physical activity and muscle tone
Lifestyle, psychological variables
Pathologic conditions (disease, pain, pg)
Medications
Diagnostic tests
Surgery and anethesia
Constipation foods - ANSWER Cheese
Lean meat
Eggs
Pasta
Foods with laxative effect - ANSWER Fruits and vegetables
Bran
Chocolate
Alcohol
Coffee
Gas-producing foods - ANSWER Onions
Cabbage
Beans
Cauliflower
Constipation - ANSWER No BM in 3 days
3
, Act on/before day 2
-Hard, dry stool - difficult to eliminate
-Low or inactive bowel sounds
-Excessive straining, bloating, and the sensation of full bowel
-Assess for paralytic ileus if pt had surgery, anesthetic
Impaction - ANSWER Collection of hardened feces
Occurs in rectum
Results from unrelieved constipation
Often liquid stool is symptom
Ask when last normal formed BM was
Diarrhea - ANSWER Increase in the number of stools and the passage of liquid, unformed
feces
Often intestinal cramping
Usually protective response
Large amounts of fluids and electrolytes lost
Often a symptom of illness/infection
Fecal incontinence - ANSWER Inability to control passage of feces and gas from the anus
Can be neurological in nature
Flatulence - ANSWER Excess trapped gas
Cal result from slowed motility
Can be painful, embarrassing
Hemorrhoids - ANSWER Dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum
Can be internal or external
4
