Question 1

All of the following factors correctly influence respiration except one. Which of the following is incorrect?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Opioids like hydrocodone depress the respiratory center (decrease RR); stress and high altitude stimulate ventilation (increase RR). An increase in respiratory rate is linked to elevated body temperature (fever), not simply a warmer environment, so the environmental temperature statement is incorrect.

Question 2

Emphysema is a disease of which organ?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Emphysema is a form of COPD characterized by destruction of alveolar walls and enlarged air spaces in the lungs.

Question 3

How many lobes does the right lung have?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The right lung is divided into three lobes: superior, middle, and inferior.

Question 4

What is the normal blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) level?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Normal SpO2 in healthy adults is about 95–100%; values below ~94% suggest hypoxemia. Therefore 95 to 100 is the correct range.

Question 5

What is the main organ of the respiratory system?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The lungs are the primary organs responsible for gas exchange in the respiratory system.

Question 6

What is the potential space between the visceral and parietal pleura called?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The space between the visceral and parietal pleura is the pleural cavity; pericardial surrounds the heart, peritoneal is in the abdomen, and synovial cavities are within joints.

Question 7

Which of the following is a classic sign of pulmonary edema?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Pulmonary edema fills alveoli with fluid mixed with blood, producing characteristic pink, frothy sputum. Dry cough, bradycardia, and hypothermia are not typical findings.

Question 8

What is the most common cause of chronic asthma?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Among the options, emphysema is the condition most closely associated with chronic obstructive airway disease and chronic asthma; long-standing airway obstruction and air trapping in chronic asthma can lead to emphysematous changes, whereas atelectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, and pneumonia are not typical chronic causes of asthma.

Question 9

What is the diagnosis based on the clinical presentation?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Pleural effusion best matches a presentation of dyspnea with pleuritic pain, decreased breath sounds, dullness to percussion, and reduced tactile fremitus, distinguishing it from tuberculosis, lung abscess, or carcinoma.

Question 10

What is the exchange of gases between the blood and lungs called?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Gas exchange across the alveolar–capillary membrane occurs by diffusion; perfusion is blood flow, osmosis is water movement, and respiration is the broader process.

Question 11

The lung is a part of which body system?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Lungs are organs of the respiratory system responsible for gas exchange; they are not part of the cardiovascular or digestive systems, so A is correct.

Question 12

What is the most important clinical feature to diagnose severe pneumonia in a child?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Lower chest wall indrawing is the key WHO IMCI sign distinguishing severe pneumonia; tachypnea alone indicates pneumonia, and cyanosis suggests very severe disease. Nasal flaring is nonspecific.

Question 13

What is the covering of the lungs called?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The lungs are enclosed by the pleura, a double-layered serous membrane (visceral and parietal pleura).

Question 14

How many lungs are present in the human body?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Humans have two lungs, the left and right lungs.

Question 15

Which is the site of vital gas exchange between the lungs and blood?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Alveoli are the terminal air sacs where gas exchange occurs across the thin respiratory membrane with surrounding capillaries; the pharynx, larynx, and bronchi are conducting airways.

Question 16

Which substance primarily stimulates the respiratory center?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: CO2 is the primary driver of ventilation; medullary chemoreceptors respond to increased CO2 (via H+), increasing respiratory drive. O2 mainly affects peripheral chemoreceptors during hypoxemia; lactic acid and calcium are not the main stimulants.

Question 17

The primary physiological alteration in the development of asthma is?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asthma’s key immediate physiologic event is bronchial smooth muscle bronchospasm causing airway narrowing; mucus hypersecretion and edema can occur but are not the primary alteration. Infection is not the fundamental driver.

Question 18

What primarily drives the respiratory drive in a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: In chronic CO2 retainers (COPD), central chemoreceptors become desensitized to CO2, so ventilation is driven mainly by hypoxemia sensed as low arterial O2 (PaO2/Po2) via peripheral chemoreceptors.

Question 19

What is the normal breathing rate range for a newborn?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Normal newborn respiratory rate is 30–60 breaths per minute; higher ranges suggest tachypnea.

Question 20

Which organ carries out respiration?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The lungs are the primary organs of respiration, exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Question 21

What is the cause of asthma?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease due to genetic predisposition and environmental triggers (e.g., allergens, irritants), not an infection. Viral, fungal, or bacterial agents may trigger attacks but do not cause asthma.

Question 22

The mother of a child with cystic fibrosis tells the nurse that her child makes “snoring” sounds when breathing. The nurse is aware that many children with cystic fibrosis have?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Children with cystic fibrosis commonly develop chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, which can obstruct airflow and cause snoring. The other choices are not characteristic findings of CF.

Question 23

What is the condition called when the oxygen supply to the tissue is inadequate?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Hypoxia is inadequate oxygen delivery to tissues. Dyspnea is difficult breathing, asphyxia is severe hypoxia from impaired ventilation, and apnea is cessation of breathing.

Question 24

How much oxygen is generally transported in combination with hemoglobin in red blood cells?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Most oxygen in blood is carried bound to hemoglobin as oxyhemoglobin (~98.5%); only ~1.5% is dissolved in plasma.

Question 25

What does empyema refer to?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Empyema is defined as a collection of purulent material (pus) within the pleural space.

Question 26

What is the term for increased depth of breathing with a normal respiratory rate?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Hyperpnea is increased depth of breathing with a normal (or sometimes increased) respiratory rate. Kussmaul’s is deep, labored breathing in metabolic acidosis; bradypnea is slow rate; orthopnea is dyspnea when supine.

Question 27

From which organ is angiotensin converting enzyme secreted?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: ACE is produced primarily by endothelial cells of the pulmonary capillaries; hence the lungs are the main source.

Question 28

What is the term for the lack of oxygen in the tissue?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Hypoxia is the deficiency of oxygen reaching the tissues. Anoxia is the complete absence of oxygen; the question’s wording indicates a lack/deficiency rather than total absence.

Question 29

Pleura is the layer of which organ?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The pleura is the serous membrane that covers the lungs (visceral pleura) and lines the thoracic cavity (parietal pleura).

Question 30

Which of the following respiratory system parameters does NOT decrease during pregnancy?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: During pregnancy the diaphragm elevates, decreasing functional residual capacity via reduced residual and expiratory reserve volumes; total lung capacity decreases slightly. Vital capacity remains essentially unchanged, so it does not decrease.

Question 31

What is the term for rhythmic waxing and waning of respiration?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Cheyne-Stokes respiration is the characteristic cyclical crescendo–decrescendo pattern of breathing with waxing and waning amplitude.

Question 32

Which body system does the coronavirus mainly infect?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory tract, causing respiratory illness; other systems can be affected secondarily.

Question 33

Smoking can cause cancer of which organ?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Tobacco smoke is the leading cause of lung cancer; thus the affected organ is the lungs.

Question 34

What is the total lung capacity in a newborn?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Term newborns have a total lung capacity of roughly 200 mL, aligning with pediatric physiologic norms for lung volumes.

Question 35

In which structure are incomplete shaped rings present?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The trachea contains incomplete C-shaped hyaline cartilage rings that keep the airway open while allowing the esophagus to expand posteriorly. The other listed structures do not have these rings.

Question 36

Which occupational disease is caused by coal dust?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Anthracosis (coal worker’s pneumoconiosis) results from inhalation of coal dust. Silicosis is due to silica, asbestosis to asbestos, and bagassosis to sugarcane dust.

Question 37

Inhalation of sugarcane dust could cause which respiratory condition?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Bagassosis is hypersensitivity pneumonitis from inhaling bagasse (sugarcane dust). Byssinosis is from cotton, tobacosis from tobacco dust, and farmer’s lung from moldy hay.

Question 38

What is the most common problem in preterm babies?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Premature infants often have immature lungs and surfactant deficiency, making respiratory distress and apnea the most frequent complication.

Question 39

What is the cause of the occupational disease 'Farmer's lung'?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Farmer's lung is a hypersensitivity pneumonitis caused by inhalation of moldy hay or grain dust (thermophilic actinomycetes), not coal, silica, or asbestos.

Question 40

A 38 year-old female client is admitted to the hospital with an acute exacerbation of asthma. This is her third admission for asthma in 7 months. She describes how she doesn't really like having to use her medications all the time. The nurse explains the long-term consequence of uncontrolled airway inflammation which is?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Chronic, undertreated asthma causes persistent airway inflammation leading to airway remodeling and irreversible declines in lung function. Alveolar degeneration suggests emphysema, chronic bronchoconstriction alone is not the long-term sequela, and frequent pneumonia is not the characteristic consequence.

Question 41

What is the medical term for pus in the pleural cavity?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Empyema is the accumulation of pus in the pleural space. Hemothorax is blood, pleural effusion is nonpurulent fluid, and pneumothorax is air in the pleural cavity.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT an acute respiratory infection?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease and not an infectious process, whereas pneumonia, croup, and adenoiditis are acute infections of the respiratory tract.

Question 43

Which respiratory sign is MOST characteristic of an asthma exacerbation?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Airway narrowing from bronchospasm and inflammation produces musical expiratory wheezes—hallmark findings in asthma exacerbations.

Question 44

Asthma is a disease of -----?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness, reversible airflow obstruction, and mucus hypersecretion. These processes occur in the lungs, specifically the bronchi and bronchioles. Clinical manifestations include wheezing, dyspnea, chest tightness, and cough, all stemming from pulmonary airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction.

Question 45

Which structure is known as voice box?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The larynx is commonly called the voice box because it houses the vocal cords and is responsible for phonation. Air passing through the larynx vibrates the vocal folds to produce sound. The pharynx is a shared airway-food passage, the trachea is the windpipe conducting air to the bronchi, and intercostal muscles assist in breathing but are not involved in sound production.

Question 46

The covering of the lungs in human is____________________?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The lungs are covered by the pleura, specifically the visceral pleural membrane that invests the lung surface. The thoracic cavity is lined by the parietal pleura, and a lubricated pleural space between the layers allows frictionless expansion. The pericardium covers the heart, and the peritoneum lines the abdominal cavity. Therefore, the correct covering of the lungs is the pleural membrane.

Question 47

Respiratory center are stimulated by?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The primary driver of the medullary respiratory center is arterial carbon dioxide. Increased PaCO2 diffuses into the CSF, forming H+ that stimulates central chemoreceptors and increases ventilatory drive. Oxygen mainly affects peripheral chemoreceptors and becomes a significant stimulus only in marked hypoxemia. Lactic acid and calcium are not the primary physiologic regulators of the central respiratory center.

Question 48

What is a common symptom of asthma?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asthma causes airway inflammation and bronchoconstriction, producing expiratory airflow limitation. The hallmark clinical sign is wheezing, reflecting turbulent airflow through narrowed bronchi. Hemoptysis is uncommon and suggests another diagnosis; nausea and chest trauma are not typical symptoms of asthma.

Question 49

The rings of the trachea consist of?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Tracheal rings are C-shaped structures of hyaline cartilage that maintain airway patency and prevent collapse during inspiration. The open posterior portion is bridged by the trachealis muscle, allowing some flexibility and diameter change. They are not bone, ligaments, or muscle themselves.

Question 50

COVID-19 mainly affects which organ?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: SARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory tract, infecting airway and alveolar epithelial cells via ACE2 receptors. The main clinical manifestations are pneumonia and hypoxemic respiratory failure, and severe cases can progress to ARDS. While COVID-19 can affect multiple organs, the lungs are the principal site of disease.

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