ESTUDYR
NSG 3280 EXAM 1 2025 MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
Pathology is best defined as:
a) The study of normal organ function
b) The study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues, cells, and bodily
fluids.
c) A specialty of surgery
d) The study of drug effects on the body
Rationale: Pathology focuses on causes, development, structural/functional changes, and the
diagnosis of disease.
Etiology refers to:
a) The symptoms of a disease
b) The treatment of a disease
c) The study of the causes of disease
d) The progression of disease over time
Rationale: Etiology identifies factors (infectious agents, genetics, environment) that cause
disease.
A risk factor is:
a) A guaranteed cause of disease
b) A diagnostic test
c) Something that increases risk or susceptibility to a disease
d) The same as pathogenesis
Rationale: Risk factors (smoking, hypertension) increase probability of developing disease but
are not always direct causes.
Pathogenesis describes:
a) How to treat a disease
b) The prevalence of disease in a population
c) The development/evolution of a disease from initial stimulus to manifestations
d) Genetic transmission patterns
Rationale: Pathogenesis traces cellular and molecular events that lead from exposure to
disease expression.
Which best defines signs of disease?
a) Subjective complaints reported by the patient
b) Objective manifestations observed by clinicians
,ESTUDYR
c) Psychological responses only
d) Lab tests that are always abnormal
Rationale: Signs are observable or measurable (fever, rash, elevated WBC) as opposed to
subjective symptoms.
Symptoms are:
a) Definitive lab results
b) Subjective feelings of an abnormality in the body reported by the patient
c) Visible lesions only
d) Synonymous with syndrome
Rationale: Symptoms (pain, nausea) rely on patient report and cannot be directly measured by
others.
A syndrome is:
a) A disease with a known single pathogen
b) A set of signs and symptoms whose precise etiology is not yet determined
c) A type of diagnostic test
d) A treatment protocol
Rationale: Syndromes group clinical findings; etiology may be unknown or multifactorial.
The latent period is:
a) The time of peak symptoms
b) Interval between exposure to an injurious agent and the first appearance of
signs/symptoms
c) Time after full recovery
d) Duration of hospitalization
Rationale: Latent (incubation) period precedes clinical detection of disease.
The prodromal period refers to:
a) Full-blown illness phase
b) Appearance of early, nonspecific signs/symptoms indicating onset
c) Permanent disability stage
d) End of disease course
Rationale: Prodrome includes mild symptoms (malaise, low-grade fever) that signal disease
development.
Stage of manifest illness (acute phase) is when:
a) Patient is asymptomatic
b) Disease reaches full intensity and signs/symptoms peak
c) Only laboratory values change
,ESTUDYR
d) Disease is permanently resolved
Rationale: Acute/manifest phase is when clinical manifestations are most evident.
The latent/silent period can be described as:
a) When signs and symptoms are at their worst
b) When signs/symptoms may become mild or temporarily disappear
c) The incubation for infectious disease only
d) The chronic lifelong phase always present
Rationale: Disease may become clinically quiet for a time despite underlying pathology.
An acute condition is characterized by:
a) Very long duration (years)
b) Relatively severe manifestations that run a short course (hours–weeks)
c) No symptoms at all
d) Permanent organ failure only
Rationale: Acute illnesses have rapid onset and relatively brief duration.
A chronic condition typically:
a) Always starts as an acute condition and resolves in days
b) Can begin acutely but persist for months due to inadequate resolution
c) Is always due to infection
d) Is reversible within hours
Rationale: Chronic disease persists long-term and may follow an acute episode if unresolved.
Exacerbation means:
a) Complete cure
b) Sudden increase in the severity of a disease
c) Mild improvement
d) Initial infection only
Rationale: Exacerbation denotes worsening symptoms or disease activity.
Remission is:
a) Worsening of disease
b) Decline or abatement in severity of signs and symptoms
c) The initial exposure period
d) A synonym for acute phase
Rationale: Remission is improvement or temporary disappearance of disease manifestations.
Convalescence refers to:
a) Sudden death from disease
b) Stage of recovery after disease, injury, or surgery
, ESTUDYR
c) The incubation period
d) A chronic relapse
Rationale: Convalescence is the gradual restoration of health and strength following illness.
A sequela (sequelae) is:
a) A preventive treatment
b) A subsequent pathologic condition produced by a disease
c) The initial cause of disease
d) A diagnostic lab test
Rationale: Sequelae are complications or residual effects (e.g., rheumatic heart disease after
strep).
Validity (accuracy) of a measurement is:
a) Its reproducibility only
b) The degree to which it reflects the true value of what it intends to measure
c) Irrelevant to diagnostics
d) Same as predictive value
Rationale: Validity assesses closeness to truth; accuracy is essential for diagnostic tests.
Reliability (precision) means:
a) The test is valid only once
b) The ability of a test to give the same result on repeated measurements
c) The clinical usefulness of a test
d) The test’s sensitivity only
Rationale: Precision concerns consistency; a precise test yields similar results under unchanged
conditions.
Predictive value of a test refers to:
a) The number of positive tests only
b) The extent to which a test can predict presence or absence of a condition in an individual
c) A test’s cost-effectiveness
d) The test’s specificity only
Rationale: Predictive values (positive/negative) estimate probability of disease given test
outcome.
Positive predictive value (PPV) estimates:
a) Probability disease is absent if test is negative
b) Probability disease is present if test is positive
c) The test’s sensitivity
NSG 3280 EXAM 1 2025 MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
Pathology is best defined as:
a) The study of normal organ function
b) The study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues, cells, and bodily
fluids.
c) A specialty of surgery
d) The study of drug effects on the body
Rationale: Pathology focuses on causes, development, structural/functional changes, and the
diagnosis of disease.
Etiology refers to:
a) The symptoms of a disease
b) The treatment of a disease
c) The study of the causes of disease
d) The progression of disease over time
Rationale: Etiology identifies factors (infectious agents, genetics, environment) that cause
disease.
A risk factor is:
a) A guaranteed cause of disease
b) A diagnostic test
c) Something that increases risk or susceptibility to a disease
d) The same as pathogenesis
Rationale: Risk factors (smoking, hypertension) increase probability of developing disease but
are not always direct causes.
Pathogenesis describes:
a) How to treat a disease
b) The prevalence of disease in a population
c) The development/evolution of a disease from initial stimulus to manifestations
d) Genetic transmission patterns
Rationale: Pathogenesis traces cellular and molecular events that lead from exposure to
disease expression.
Which best defines signs of disease?
a) Subjective complaints reported by the patient
b) Objective manifestations observed by clinicians
,ESTUDYR
c) Psychological responses only
d) Lab tests that are always abnormal
Rationale: Signs are observable or measurable (fever, rash, elevated WBC) as opposed to
subjective symptoms.
Symptoms are:
a) Definitive lab results
b) Subjective feelings of an abnormality in the body reported by the patient
c) Visible lesions only
d) Synonymous with syndrome
Rationale: Symptoms (pain, nausea) rely on patient report and cannot be directly measured by
others.
A syndrome is:
a) A disease with a known single pathogen
b) A set of signs and symptoms whose precise etiology is not yet determined
c) A type of diagnostic test
d) A treatment protocol
Rationale: Syndromes group clinical findings; etiology may be unknown or multifactorial.
The latent period is:
a) The time of peak symptoms
b) Interval between exposure to an injurious agent and the first appearance of
signs/symptoms
c) Time after full recovery
d) Duration of hospitalization
Rationale: Latent (incubation) period precedes clinical detection of disease.
The prodromal period refers to:
a) Full-blown illness phase
b) Appearance of early, nonspecific signs/symptoms indicating onset
c) Permanent disability stage
d) End of disease course
Rationale: Prodrome includes mild symptoms (malaise, low-grade fever) that signal disease
development.
Stage of manifest illness (acute phase) is when:
a) Patient is asymptomatic
b) Disease reaches full intensity and signs/symptoms peak
c) Only laboratory values change
,ESTUDYR
d) Disease is permanently resolved
Rationale: Acute/manifest phase is when clinical manifestations are most evident.
The latent/silent period can be described as:
a) When signs and symptoms are at their worst
b) When signs/symptoms may become mild or temporarily disappear
c) The incubation for infectious disease only
d) The chronic lifelong phase always present
Rationale: Disease may become clinically quiet for a time despite underlying pathology.
An acute condition is characterized by:
a) Very long duration (years)
b) Relatively severe manifestations that run a short course (hours–weeks)
c) No symptoms at all
d) Permanent organ failure only
Rationale: Acute illnesses have rapid onset and relatively brief duration.
A chronic condition typically:
a) Always starts as an acute condition and resolves in days
b) Can begin acutely but persist for months due to inadequate resolution
c) Is always due to infection
d) Is reversible within hours
Rationale: Chronic disease persists long-term and may follow an acute episode if unresolved.
Exacerbation means:
a) Complete cure
b) Sudden increase in the severity of a disease
c) Mild improvement
d) Initial infection only
Rationale: Exacerbation denotes worsening symptoms or disease activity.
Remission is:
a) Worsening of disease
b) Decline or abatement in severity of signs and symptoms
c) The initial exposure period
d) A synonym for acute phase
Rationale: Remission is improvement or temporary disappearance of disease manifestations.
Convalescence refers to:
a) Sudden death from disease
b) Stage of recovery after disease, injury, or surgery
, ESTUDYR
c) The incubation period
d) A chronic relapse
Rationale: Convalescence is the gradual restoration of health and strength following illness.
A sequela (sequelae) is:
a) A preventive treatment
b) A subsequent pathologic condition produced by a disease
c) The initial cause of disease
d) A diagnostic lab test
Rationale: Sequelae are complications or residual effects (e.g., rheumatic heart disease after
strep).
Validity (accuracy) of a measurement is:
a) Its reproducibility only
b) The degree to which it reflects the true value of what it intends to measure
c) Irrelevant to diagnostics
d) Same as predictive value
Rationale: Validity assesses closeness to truth; accuracy is essential for diagnostic tests.
Reliability (precision) means:
a) The test is valid only once
b) The ability of a test to give the same result on repeated measurements
c) The clinical usefulness of a test
d) The test’s sensitivity only
Rationale: Precision concerns consistency; a precise test yields similar results under unchanged
conditions.
Predictive value of a test refers to:
a) The number of positive tests only
b) The extent to which a test can predict presence or absence of a condition in an individual
c) A test’s cost-effectiveness
d) The test’s specificity only
Rationale: Predictive values (positive/negative) estimate probability of disease given test
outcome.
Positive predictive value (PPV) estimates:
a) Probability disease is absent if test is negative
b) Probability disease is present if test is positive
c) The test’s sensitivity
