C HAPTER 14: C HEST AND L UNGS
Ball: Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination, 9th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A 44-year-old male patient who complains of a cough has presented to the
emergency department. He admits to smoking one pack per day. During your
inspection of his chest, the most appropriate lighting source to highlight chest
movement is:
a. bright tangential lighting.
b. daylight from a window.
c. flashlight in a dark room.
d. fluorescent ceiling lights.
ANS: A
Bright tangential light is best for visualizing chest movements.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application) OBJ: Nursing process—
assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic Adaptation
2. When auscultating the apex of the lung, you should listen at a point:
a. even with the second rib.
b. 4 cm above the first rib.
c. higher on the right side.
d. on the convex diaphragm surface.
, ANS: B
The apex of the lung is 4 cm above the first rib.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyzing (Analysis) OBJ: Nursing
process—assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic
Adaptation
3. To count the ribs and the intercostal spaces, you begin by palpating the reference
point of the:
a. distal point of the xiphoid.
b. manubriosternal junction.
c. suprasternal notch.
d. acromion process.
ANS: B
The angle of Louis, the junction of the manubrium and the sternum,
corresponds to the second rib, the reference point for counting ribs and
intercostal spaces.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application) OBJ: Nursing process—
assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic Adaptation
4. Mr. Curtis is a 44-year-old patient who has presented to the emergency
department with shortness of breath. During the history, the patient describes
shortness of breath that gets worse when he sits up. To document this, you w ill
use the term:
a. platypnea.
Ball: Seidel’s Guide to Physical Examination, 9th Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. A 44-year-old male patient who complains of a cough has presented to the
emergency department. He admits to smoking one pack per day. During your
inspection of his chest, the most appropriate lighting source to highlight chest
movement is:
a. bright tangential lighting.
b. daylight from a window.
c. flashlight in a dark room.
d. fluorescent ceiling lights.
ANS: A
Bright tangential light is best for visualizing chest movements.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application) OBJ: Nursing process—
assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic Adaptation
2. When auscultating the apex of the lung, you should listen at a point:
a. even with the second rib.
b. 4 cm above the first rib.
c. higher on the right side.
d. on the convex diaphragm surface.
, ANS: B
The apex of the lung is 4 cm above the first rib.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Analyzing (Analysis) OBJ: Nursing
process—assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic
Adaptation
3. To count the ribs and the intercostal spaces, you begin by palpating the reference
point of the:
a. distal point of the xiphoid.
b. manubriosternal junction.
c. suprasternal notch.
d. acromion process.
ANS: B
The angle of Louis, the junction of the manubrium and the sternum,
corresponds to the second rib, the reference point for counting ribs and
intercostal spaces.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Applying (Application) OBJ: Nursing process—
assessment MSC: Physiologic Integrity: Physiologic Adaptation
4. Mr. Curtis is a 44-year-old patient who has presented to the emergency
department with shortness of breath. During the history, the patient describes
shortness of breath that gets worse when he sits up. To document this, you w ill
use the term:
a. platypnea.
