N383 Unit 3 Practice Questions (Neurologic) Exam
With Complete Solutions
While the nurse is taking the history of a 68-year-old patient who sustained a head injury
3 days earlier, he tells the nurse that he is on a cruise ship and is 30 years old. The nurse
knows that this finding is indicative of a(n):
a. Great sense of humor.
b. Uncooperative behavior.
c. Inability to understand questions.
d. D
e any decreasing level of consciousness, disorientation, memory loss, uncooperative
behavior, or even complacency in a previously combative person. The other responses
are incorrect.Decreased level of consciousness. - ANSWER D
A change in consciousness may be subtle. The nurse should notice any decreasing level
of consciousness, disorientation, memory loss, uncooperative behavior, or even
complacency in a previously combative person. The other responses are incorrect.
The two parts of the nervous system are the:
a. Motor and sensory.
b. Central and peripheral.
c. Peripheral and autonomic.
d. Hypothalamus and cerebral. - ANSWER B
The nervous system can be divided into two parts central and peripheral. The central
nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system
includes the 12 pairs of cranial nerves (CNs), the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all of
their branches.
The wife of a 65-year-old man tells the nurse that she is concerned because she has
noticed a change in her husbands personality and ability to understand. He also cries
very easily and becomes angry. The nurse recalls that the cerebral lobe responsible for
these behaviors is the __________ lobe.
,a. Frontal
b. Parietal
c. Occipital
d. Temporal - ANSWER A
The frontal lobe has areas responsible for personality, behavior, emotions, and
intellectual function. The parietal lobe has areas responsible for sensation; the occipital
lobe is responsible for visual reception; and the temporal lobe is responsible for
hearing, taste, and smell.
Which statement concerning the areas of the brain is true?
a. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
b. The hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
c. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
d. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus. - ANSWER
B
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: body temperature
controller, sleep center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and
coordinator of autonomic nervous system activity and emotional status. The cerebellum
controls motor coordination, equilibrium, and balance. The basal ganglia control
autonomic movements of the body. The motor pathways of the spinal cord synapse in
various areas of the spinal cord, not in the thalamus.
The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
a. Medulla.
b. Cerebellum.
c. Spinal cord.
d. Cerebral cortex. - ANSWER C
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that
connect the brain to the spinal nerves; it is responsible for mediating reflexes.
While gathering equipment after an injection, a nurse accidentally received a prick from
, an improperly capped needle. To interpret this sensation, which of these areas must be
intact?
a. Corticospinal tract, medulla, and basal ganglia
b. Pyramidal tract, hypothalamus, and sensory cortex
c. Lateral spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
d. Anterior spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex - ANSWER C
The spinothalamic tract contains sensory fibers that transmit the sensations of pain,
temperature, and crude or light touch. Fibers carrying pain and temperature sensations
ascend the lateral spinothalamic tract, whereas the sensations of crude touch form the
anterior spinothalamic tract. At the thalamus, the fibers synapse with another sensory
neuron, which carries the message to the sensory cortex for full interpretation. The
other options are not correct.
A patient with a lack of oxygen to his heart will have pain in his chest and possibly in the
shoulder, arms, or jaw. The nurse knows that the best explanation why this occurs is
which one of these statements?
a. A problem exists with the sensory cortex and its ability to discriminate the location.
b. The lack of oxygen in his heart has resulted in decreased amount of oxygen to the
areas experiencing the pain.
c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in the heart;
consequently, the pain is felt elsewhere.
d. A lesion has developed in the dorsal root, which is preventing the sensation from
being transmitted normally. - ANSWER C
The sensory cortex is arranged in a specific pattern, forming a corresponding map of
the body. Pain in the right hand is perceived at a specific spot on the map. Some organs,
such as the heart, liver, and spleen, are absent from the brain map. Pain originating in
these organs is referred because no felt image exists in which to have pain. Pain is felt
by proxy, that is, by another body part that does have a felt image. The other responses
are not correct explanations.
The ability that humans have to perform very skilled movements such as writing is
controlled by the:
With Complete Solutions
While the nurse is taking the history of a 68-year-old patient who sustained a head injury
3 days earlier, he tells the nurse that he is on a cruise ship and is 30 years old. The nurse
knows that this finding is indicative of a(n):
a. Great sense of humor.
b. Uncooperative behavior.
c. Inability to understand questions.
d. D
e any decreasing level of consciousness, disorientation, memory loss, uncooperative
behavior, or even complacency in a previously combative person. The other responses
are incorrect.Decreased level of consciousness. - ANSWER D
A change in consciousness may be subtle. The nurse should notice any decreasing level
of consciousness, disorientation, memory loss, uncooperative behavior, or even
complacency in a previously combative person. The other responses are incorrect.
The two parts of the nervous system are the:
a. Motor and sensory.
b. Central and peripheral.
c. Peripheral and autonomic.
d. Hypothalamus and cerebral. - ANSWER B
The nervous system can be divided into two parts central and peripheral. The central
nervous system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system
includes the 12 pairs of cranial nerves (CNs), the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all of
their branches.
The wife of a 65-year-old man tells the nurse that she is concerned because she has
noticed a change in her husbands personality and ability to understand. He also cries
very easily and becomes angry. The nurse recalls that the cerebral lobe responsible for
these behaviors is the __________ lobe.
,a. Frontal
b. Parietal
c. Occipital
d. Temporal - ANSWER A
The frontal lobe has areas responsible for personality, behavior, emotions, and
intellectual function. The parietal lobe has areas responsible for sensation; the occipital
lobe is responsible for visual reception; and the temporal lobe is responsible for
hearing, taste, and smell.
Which statement concerning the areas of the brain is true?
a. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
b. The hypothalamus controls body temperature and regulates sleep.
c. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
d. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus. - ANSWER
B
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: body temperature
controller, sleep center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and
coordinator of autonomic nervous system activity and emotional status. The cerebellum
controls motor coordination, equilibrium, and balance. The basal ganglia control
autonomic movements of the body. The motor pathways of the spinal cord synapse in
various areas of the spinal cord, not in the thalamus.
The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
a. Medulla.
b. Cerebellum.
c. Spinal cord.
d. Cerebral cortex. - ANSWER C
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that
connect the brain to the spinal nerves; it is responsible for mediating reflexes.
While gathering equipment after an injection, a nurse accidentally received a prick from
, an improperly capped needle. To interpret this sensation, which of these areas must be
intact?
a. Corticospinal tract, medulla, and basal ganglia
b. Pyramidal tract, hypothalamus, and sensory cortex
c. Lateral spinothalamic tract, thalamus, and sensory cortex
d. Anterior spinothalamic tract, basal ganglia, and sensory cortex - ANSWER C
The spinothalamic tract contains sensory fibers that transmit the sensations of pain,
temperature, and crude or light touch. Fibers carrying pain and temperature sensations
ascend the lateral spinothalamic tract, whereas the sensations of crude touch form the
anterior spinothalamic tract. At the thalamus, the fibers synapse with another sensory
neuron, which carries the message to the sensory cortex for full interpretation. The
other options are not correct.
A patient with a lack of oxygen to his heart will have pain in his chest and possibly in the
shoulder, arms, or jaw. The nurse knows that the best explanation why this occurs is
which one of these statements?
a. A problem exists with the sensory cortex and its ability to discriminate the location.
b. The lack of oxygen in his heart has resulted in decreased amount of oxygen to the
areas experiencing the pain.
c. The sensory cortex does not have the ability to localize pain in the heart;
consequently, the pain is felt elsewhere.
d. A lesion has developed in the dorsal root, which is preventing the sensation from
being transmitted normally. - ANSWER C
The sensory cortex is arranged in a specific pattern, forming a corresponding map of
the body. Pain in the right hand is perceived at a specific spot on the map. Some organs,
such as the heart, liver, and spleen, are absent from the brain map. Pain originating in
these organs is referred because no felt image exists in which to have pain. Pain is felt
by proxy, that is, by another body part that does have a felt image. The other responses
are not correct explanations.
The ability that humans have to perform very skilled movements such as writing is
controlled by the:
