Which structure contains the vocal cords and protects the lower airway from food entering the trachea?
Larynx
✓
Pharynx
Bronchus
Nasal cavity
Correct Answer
Larynx
The larynx, or voice box, houses the vocal cords and guards the entrance to the trachea so swallowed food is kept out of the lower airway. The pharynx is the throat passage shared by air, food and fluid. A bronchus is a lower airway that branches from the trachea into a lung. The nasal cavity warms, moistens and cleans inhaled air but holds no vocal cords.
Category: Upper Airway Structures
Question 2
How does air inhaled through the mouth differ from air inhaled through the nose?
It reaches the lungs without passing the larynx
It is not filtered by the nasal passages
✓
It is cleaned more thoroughly than nasal air
It enters the esophagus instead of the lungs
Correct Answer
It is not filtered by the nasal passages
The nose filters inhaled air with hairs and mucus and warms and moistens it, so air drawn in through the mouth misses that protection. It reaches the lungs without passing the larynx is wrong because all inhaled air passes through the larynx and trachea. It is cleaned more thoroughly than nasal air reverses the truth. It enters the esophagus instead of the lungs is wrong because inhaled air still travels down the airway.
Category: Upper Airway Structures
Question 3
In which vessels does oxygen actually pass from the alveoli into the blood?
Pulmonary arteries
Pulmonary veins
Pulmonary capillaries
✓
Bronchial arteries
Correct Answer
Pulmonary capillaries
Gas exchange happens across the thin walls of the pulmonary capillaries that wrap around each alveolus. Pulmonary arteries deliver oxygen-poor blood to the lungs but are too thick walled for exchange. Pulmonary veins carry already oxygenated blood back to the left side of the heart. Bronchial arteries supply the lung tissue itself rather than picking up oxygen.
Category: Gas Exchange
Question 4
Which organism causes strep throat, a bacterial form of pharyngitis?
Staphylococcus aureus
Rhinovirus
Influenza virus
Group A Streptococcus
✓
Correct Answer
Group A Streptococcus
Strep throat is caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria, and a sore throat is often its first symptom; it is treated with antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus is a common skin organism, not the cause of strep throat. Rhinovirus causes the common cold. Influenza virus causes the flu, a viral cause of sore throat.
Category: Upper Respiratory Conditions
Question 5
Which noninfectious condition can cause pharyngitis?
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
✓
Strep throat infection
Influenza infection
A common cold virus
Correct Answer
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Pharyngitis can result from allergies or from stomach acid refluxing up into the throat in gastroesophageal reflux disease, neither of which is an infection. Strep throat infection is a bacterial cause. Influenza infection is a viral cause. A common cold virus is also an infectious cause.
Category: Upper Respiratory Conditions
Question 6
In rhinitis, which problem results when excess nasal secretions drain into the back of the throat?
Expiratory wheezing
Throat irritation and coughing
✓
Swelling around the eyes
Sudden loss of the voice
Correct Answer
Throat irritation and coughing
Rhinitis increases nasal secretions, and as they drain down the back of the throat they irritate it and trigger coughing. Expiratory wheezing comes from narrowed lower airways, as in asthma. Swelling around the eyes is a feature of sinusitis. Sudden loss of the voice points to laryngitis.
Category: Upper Respiratory Conditions
Question 7
Which symptom is characteristic of sinusitis?
Expiratory wheezing
Barking cough at night
Facial pain with headache
✓
Painful urination
Correct Answer
Facial pain with headache
Inflamed or infected sinus linings cause facial pain and pressure, headache, nasal drainage and sometimes swelling around the eyes. Expiratory wheezing reflects narrowed lower airways. Barking cough at night describes croup, not sinusitis. Painful urination is a urinary tract symptom.
Category: Upper Respiratory Conditions
Question 8
Which sequence correctly traces inhaled air through the lower respiratory tract?
Bronchi, trachea, alveoli, bronchioles
Trachea, bronchioles, bronchi, alveoli
Bronchioles, bronchi, trachea, alveoli
Trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli
✓
Correct Answer
Trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli
Air passes from the trachea into the bronchi, which divide into ever smaller bronchioles that end in the alveoli. Bronchi, trachea, alveoli, bronchioles puts the trachea after the bronchi. Trachea, bronchioles, bronchi, alveoli has the smaller airways before the larger ones. Bronchioles, bronchi, trachea, alveoli runs the branching tree in reverse.
Category: Lower Airway Structures
Question 9
What do pulmonary function tests evaluate?
Airflow, gas transfer to the blood and lung performance with exercise
✓
Heart rhythm, valve motion and cardiac output at rest
Blood glucose response to a measured carbohydrate load
Bone density of the ribs and spine on imaging
Correct Answer
Airflow, gas transfer to the blood and lung performance with exercise
Pulmonary function tests measure how much air moves in and out of the lungs, how well gas transfers from the lungs into the blood and how the lungs perform during exercise. Heart rhythm, valve motion and cardiac output at rest are measured by an ECG and an echocardiogram. Blood glucose response to a measured carbohydrate load is a glucose tolerance test. Bone density of the ribs and spine on imaging is a bone density scan.
Category: Lower Respiratory Conditions
Question 10
Which description fits chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
An acute viral infection of the voice box
A group of lung conditions that block airflow
✓
A bacterial infection of the sinus linings
An allergic reaction of the nasal mucosa
Correct Answer
A group of lung conditions that block airflow
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a group of chronic conditions that obstruct airflow and make breathing difficult. An acute viral infection of the voice box describes laryngitis. A bacterial infection of the sinus linings describes bacterial sinusitis. An allergic reaction of the nasal mucosa describes allergic rhinitis.
Category: Lower Respiratory Conditions
Question 11
Which airway change defines chronic bronchitis?
Ruptured alveolar walls forming large air spaces
A swollen voice box with hoarseness
Inflamed bronchial tubes clogged with mucus
✓
Infected sinus linings with facial pain
Correct Answer
Inflamed bronchial tubes clogged with mucus
In chronic bronchitis, long-term irritation inflames the bronchial tubes and mucus builds up, making it hard to move air in and out. Ruptured alveolar walls forming large air spaces describes emphysema. A swollen voice box with hoarseness describes laryngitis. Infected sinus linings with facial pain describes sinusitis.
Category: Lower Respiratory Conditions
Question 12
What are the main goals of asthma treatment?
Permanently curing the airway inflammation
Replacing alveoli destroyed by the disease
Clearing a bacterial infection of the bronchi
Preventing attacks and keeping long-term control
✓
Correct Answer
Preventing attacks and keeping long-term control
Asthma cannot be cured, so therapy aims to prevent attacks and maintain long-term control, with quick-relief drugs for acute symptoms. Permanently curing the airway inflammation is not possible. Replacing alveoli destroyed by the disease does not apply because asthma does not destroy alveoli the way emphysema does. Clearing a bacterial infection of the bronchi is not the basis of asthma, which is driven by airway inflammation and narrowing.
Category: Lower Respiratory Conditions
Question 13
What type of tissue forms the respiratory mucosa that lines the nasal passages and sinuses?
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium
✓
Stratified squamous epithelium
Dense fibrous connective tissue
Smooth muscle without a lining
Correct Answer
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium
The respiratory mucosa is a pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium with mucus-secreting goblet cells, which trap particles and sweep them out of the airway. Stratified squamous epithelium lines surfaces that face abrasion, such as the skin and mouth. Dense fibrous connective tissue forms tendons and ligaments. Smooth muscle without a lining could not trap or clear particles.
Category: Upper Airway Structures
Question 14
Which change would slow the diffusion of gases across the respiratory membrane?
A rise in alveolar oxygen pressure
Thickening of the alveolar membrane
✓
An increase in breathing depth
A larger alveolar surface area
Correct Answer
Thickening of the alveolar membrane
Gas diffusion depends on the pressure difference across the respiratory membrane and on how thick that membrane is, so a thickened membrane slows exchange. A rise in alveolar oxygen pressure widens the gradient and speeds oxygen movement. An increase in breathing depth brings in more fresh air and supports exchange. A larger alveolar surface area also speeds exchange.
Category: Gas Exchange
Question 15
When a client's blood carbon dioxide level rises, how does the body respond?
Breathing slows to hold in more oxygen
Breathing pauses until the level falls
Breathing speeds up to remove the excess
✓
Breathing shifts from the nose to the mouth
Correct Answer
Breathing speeds up to remove the excess
Chemoreceptors detect the rising carbon dioxide and increase the breathing rate to blow off the excess, which also raises blood pH back toward normal. Breathing slows to hold in more oxygen is wrong because slower breathing is the response to low carbon dioxide, and it serves to retain carbon dioxide. Breathing pauses until the level falls would let carbon dioxide build further. Breathing shifts from the nose to the mouth is not how chemoreceptors regulate ventilation.
Category: Control of Breathing
Question 16
During normal quiet exhalation, what happens to the diaphragm and intercostal muscles?
They contract and push air out
They contract and draw air in
They stay tightened as air leaves
They relax and air flows out
✓
Correct Answer
They relax and air flows out
Quiet exhalation is passive: the diaphragm and intercostal muscles relax, the chest recoils and air flows out to the atmosphere. They contract and push air out describes forced exhalation, which uses other muscles. They contract and draw air in describes inhalation. They stay tightened as air leaves would hold the chest expanded and prevent normal recoil.
Category: Control of Breathing
Question 17
Which condition reduces perfusion and therefore the delivery of oxygen to tissues?
Low circulating blood volume
✓
Deep, regular breathing
Normal heart pumping ability
A thin alveolar membrane
Correct Answer
Low circulating blood volume
Perfusion is blood flow to tissues, and it falls when circulating volume is low, the heart pumps weakly, circulation is poor or blood pressure is low. Deep, regular breathing improves ventilation rather than reducing perfusion. Normal heart pumping ability supports perfusion. A thin alveolar membrane favors gas diffusion.
Category: Gas Exchange
Question 18
Which nonpharmacologic measure is recommended to help manage chronic bronchitis?
Strict bed rest
Increasing physical activity
✓
Limiting all fluids
A high-sodium diet
Correct Answer
Increasing physical activity
Along with quitting smoking and healthy eating, increasing physical activity helps manage chronic bronchitis and improve quality of life. Strict bed rest causes deconditioning and makes clearing mucus harder. Limiting all fluids would thicken secretions. A high-sodium diet offers no benefit and can promote fluid retention.
Category: Lower Respiratory Conditions
Question 19
Besides bringing in oxygen, how does moving air into and out of the lungs help maintain normal blood pH?
By adding bicarbonate
By removing nitrogen
By removing carbon dioxide
✓
By releasing hydrogen ions
Correct Answer
By removing carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide forms acid in the blood, so adjusting how much is exhaled lets breathing regulate blood pH. By adding bicarbonate is wrong because the kidneys, not the lungs, regulate bicarbonate. By removing nitrogen is wrong because nitrogen does not affect blood pH. By releasing hydrogen ions is wrong because the lungs remove acid only indirectly, as exhaled carbon dioxide.
Category: Control of Breathing
Question 20
If avoiding triggers does not control a client's rhinitis, which drug types may be used?
Antibiotics and antivirals
Bronchodilators and diuretics
Anticoagulants and statins
Antihistamines and decongestants
✓
Correct Answer
Antihistamines and decongestants
Avoiding triggers is preferred, and when symptoms persist, antihistamines, decongestants and nasal sprays relieve sneezing, drainage and congestion. Antibiotics and antivirals treat infections and do not relieve allergic rhinitis. Bronchodilators and diuretics act on the lower airways and the kidneys. Anticoagulants and statins act on clotting and cholesterol.
Category: Upper Respiratory Conditions