NR224 EXAM 2 UPDATED Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Ascending colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Very liquid stool, no pattern
Transverse colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Stool becoming more formed, but still liquid
Descending colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Stool losing water to reabsorption, becoming
thick and formed
Sigmoid colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Formed stool
Rectum - CORRECT ANSWER - Most formed, storage until evacuation occurs (if not
evacuated, site of fecal impaction)
Normal abdomen assessment - CORRECT ANSWER - Soft
Non-distended
Non-tender
Symmetrical
Active bowel sounds x4 quadrants
Abnormal abdomen assessment - CORRECT ANSWER - Firm
Distended
Tender
Asymmetrical
Absent bowel sounds (paralytic ileus)
Peristalsis - CORRECT ANSWER - Under control of the nervous system
,Contractions occur every 3-12 minutes
Mass peristalsis sweeps occur ___ to ____ times each 24 hour period - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1-4
____ to ____ of food waste is excreted in stool within 24 hours - CORRECT ANSWER -
1/3 to 1/2 (normal transit time)
Rapid transit times - CORRECT ANSWER - Loose stools, diarrhea, less absorption of
nutrients, less water reabsorbed
Delayed transit times - CORRECT ANSWER - Constipation, too much water reabsorbed,
dry stools
Type I stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
Type 2 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Sausage-shaped but lumpy
Type 3 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Like a sausage, but with cracks on its surface
Type 4 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
Type 6 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Watery, no solid pieces. Entirely liquid
,Variables influencing bowel elimination - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER - Cheese
Lean meat
Eggs
Pasta
Foods with laxative effect - CORRECT ANSWER - Fruits and vegetables
Bran
Chocolate
Alcohol
Coffee
Gas-producing foods - CORRECT ANSWER - Onions
Cabbage
Beans
Cauliflower
Constipation - CORRECT ANSWER - No BM in 3 days
, 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER - Inability to control passage of feces and gas
from the anus
Can be neurological in nature
Flatulence - CORRECT ANSWER - Excess trapped gas
Cal result from slowed motility
Can be painful, embarrassing
Hemorrhoids - CORRECT ANSWER - Dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum
CORRECT Answers
Ascending colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Very liquid stool, no pattern
Transverse colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Stool becoming more formed, but still liquid
Descending colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Stool losing water to reabsorption, becoming
thick and formed
Sigmoid colon - CORRECT ANSWER - Formed stool
Rectum - CORRECT ANSWER - Most formed, storage until evacuation occurs (if not
evacuated, site of fecal impaction)
Normal abdomen assessment - CORRECT ANSWER - Soft
Non-distended
Non-tender
Symmetrical
Active bowel sounds x4 quadrants
Abnormal abdomen assessment - CORRECT ANSWER - Firm
Distended
Tender
Asymmetrical
Absent bowel sounds (paralytic ileus)
Peristalsis - CORRECT ANSWER - Under control of the nervous system
,Contractions occur every 3-12 minutes
Mass peristalsis sweeps occur ___ to ____ times each 24 hour period - CORRECT
ANSWER - 1-4
____ to ____ of food waste is excreted in stool within 24 hours - CORRECT ANSWER -
1/3 to 1/2 (normal transit time)
Rapid transit times - CORRECT ANSWER - Loose stools, diarrhea, less absorption of
nutrients, less water reabsorbed
Delayed transit times - CORRECT ANSWER - Constipation, too much water reabsorbed,
dry stools
Type I stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
Type 2 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Sausage-shaped but lumpy
Type 3 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Like a sausage, but with cracks on its surface
Type 4 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passed easily)
Type 6 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7 stool - CORRECT ANSWER - Watery, no solid pieces. Entirely liquid
,Variables influencing bowel elimination - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER - Cheese
Lean meat
Eggs
Pasta
Foods with laxative effect - CORRECT ANSWER - Fruits and vegetables
Bran
Chocolate
Alcohol
Coffee
Gas-producing foods - CORRECT ANSWER - Onions
Cabbage
Beans
Cauliflower
Constipation - CORRECT ANSWER - No BM in 3 days
, 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT 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 - CORRECT ANSWER - Inability to control passage of feces and gas
from the anus
Can be neurological in nature
Flatulence - CORRECT ANSWER - Excess trapped gas
Cal result from slowed motility
Can be painful, embarrassing
Hemorrhoids - CORRECT ANSWER - Dilated, engorged veins in the lining of the rectum
