WCU PATHOPHYSIOLOGY 370 STUDY
GUIDE 2026 COMPREHENSIVE QUESTION
SET WITH ANSWERS
◉ A patient is admitted to the hospital with left-sided heart failure.
Which clinical manifestation would the nurse expect the client to
exhibit? (Select all that apply.)
a. Cough
b. Dyspnea
c. Bradypnea
d. Crackles in lungs
e. Peripheral edema
Answer: a. Cough
b. Dyspnea
d. Crackles in lungs
◉ Which offers the best prognosis for the cure of cancer?
a. Surgery
b. Radiation
c. Early detection
,d. Chemotherapeutic agents
Answer: c. Early detection
Early detection of cancer, while it remains localized, is associated
with the best prognosis for a cure. The majority of patients with
solid tumors are treated surgically, which can be curative in some
localized cancers. Ionizing radiation is used for two principal
reasons: to kill tumor cells that are not resectable because they are
located in a vital or inaccessible area, and to kill tumor cells that may
have escaped the surgeon's knife and remain undetected in the local
area. Chemotherapeutic agents are not selective for tumor cells, and
a certain amount of normal cell death also occurs.
◉ A heart that has to pump harder in order to effectively circulate
blood is likely to undergo which type of cellular adaptation?
a. Atrophy
b. Metaplasia
c. Hypertrophy
d. Hyperplasia
Answer: c. Hypertrophy
◉ A characteristic of benign prostatic hypertrophy includes which of
the following? (Select all that apply.)
a. Urgency
,b. Hesitancy
c. Low back pain
d. Weak urine flow
e. Incomplete bladder emptying
Answer: b. Hesitancy
d. Weak urine flow
e. Incomplete bladder emptying
◉ What are the criteria for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis? (Select
all that apply.)
a. Simultaneous symmetric swelling of joints
b. Soft-tissue swelling of at least three joints
c. Subcutaneous rheumatoid nodules
d. Swelling of at least one wrist joint
e. Morning stiffness in joints
Answer: a. Simultaneous symmetric swelling of joints
b. Soft-tissue swelling of at least three joints
c. Subcutaneous rheumatoid nodules
e. Morning stiffness in joints
◉ Atrial fibrillation is best described as when
a. The P wave precedes, follows, or is buried in the QRS complex
, b. Disorganized and irregular atrial waves are accompanied by an
irregular ventricular rate
c. An atrial rate of 240 to 350 beats/min in a sawtooth pattern of
atrial depolarization is seen
d. P waves occurs earlier than normal, preceded by a P wave with a
normal QRS configuration
Answer: b. Disorganized and irregular atrial waves are accompanied
by an irregular ventricular rate
- Atrial fibrillation is described as disorganized and irregular atrial
waves accompanied by an irregular ventricular rate.
- Escape rhythms can present with a P wave that precedes, follows,
or is buried in the QRS complex.
- Atrial flutter is typically manifested by a rapid atrial rate of 240 to
350 beats/min and a characteristic saw-tooth pattern of atrial
depolarizations.
- Premature atrial complexes (PAC) are characterized by P waves
that occur earlier than normal, preceded by a P wave with a normal
QRS configuration.
◉ Cardiac output is the product of both
a. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and systemic vascular resistance
(SVR)
b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and pulse pressure
c. Pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure (MAP)
GUIDE 2026 COMPREHENSIVE QUESTION
SET WITH ANSWERS
◉ A patient is admitted to the hospital with left-sided heart failure.
Which clinical manifestation would the nurse expect the client to
exhibit? (Select all that apply.)
a. Cough
b. Dyspnea
c. Bradypnea
d. Crackles in lungs
e. Peripheral edema
Answer: a. Cough
b. Dyspnea
d. Crackles in lungs
◉ Which offers the best prognosis for the cure of cancer?
a. Surgery
b. Radiation
c. Early detection
,d. Chemotherapeutic agents
Answer: c. Early detection
Early detection of cancer, while it remains localized, is associated
with the best prognosis for a cure. The majority of patients with
solid tumors are treated surgically, which can be curative in some
localized cancers. Ionizing radiation is used for two principal
reasons: to kill tumor cells that are not resectable because they are
located in a vital or inaccessible area, and to kill tumor cells that may
have escaped the surgeon's knife and remain undetected in the local
area. Chemotherapeutic agents are not selective for tumor cells, and
a certain amount of normal cell death also occurs.
◉ A heart that has to pump harder in order to effectively circulate
blood is likely to undergo which type of cellular adaptation?
a. Atrophy
b. Metaplasia
c. Hypertrophy
d. Hyperplasia
Answer: c. Hypertrophy
◉ A characteristic of benign prostatic hypertrophy includes which of
the following? (Select all that apply.)
a. Urgency
,b. Hesitancy
c. Low back pain
d. Weak urine flow
e. Incomplete bladder emptying
Answer: b. Hesitancy
d. Weak urine flow
e. Incomplete bladder emptying
◉ What are the criteria for diagnosing rheumatoid arthritis? (Select
all that apply.)
a. Simultaneous symmetric swelling of joints
b. Soft-tissue swelling of at least three joints
c. Subcutaneous rheumatoid nodules
d. Swelling of at least one wrist joint
e. Morning stiffness in joints
Answer: a. Simultaneous symmetric swelling of joints
b. Soft-tissue swelling of at least three joints
c. Subcutaneous rheumatoid nodules
e. Morning stiffness in joints
◉ Atrial fibrillation is best described as when
a. The P wave precedes, follows, or is buried in the QRS complex
, b. Disorganized and irregular atrial waves are accompanied by an
irregular ventricular rate
c. An atrial rate of 240 to 350 beats/min in a sawtooth pattern of
atrial depolarization is seen
d. P waves occurs earlier than normal, preceded by a P wave with a
normal QRS configuration
Answer: b. Disorganized and irregular atrial waves are accompanied
by an irregular ventricular rate
- Atrial fibrillation is described as disorganized and irregular atrial
waves accompanied by an irregular ventricular rate.
- Escape rhythms can present with a P wave that precedes, follows,
or is buried in the QRS complex.
- Atrial flutter is typically manifested by a rapid atrial rate of 240 to
350 beats/min and a characteristic saw-tooth pattern of atrial
depolarizations.
- Premature atrial complexes (PAC) are characterized by P waves
that occur earlier than normal, preceded by a P wave with a normal
QRS configuration.
◉ Cardiac output is the product of both
a. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and systemic vascular resistance
(SVR)
b. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) and pulse pressure
c. Pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure (MAP)
