Deck 26: Structure and Function of the Pulmonary System

Question 1

Where does the majority of total airway resistance occur?

A) Bronchi
B) Nose
C) Oral pharynx
D) Diaphragm

Answer 1

Nose

Question 2

Which statement should the nurse make when there is a balance between outward recoil of the chest wall and inward recoil of lungs at rest?

A) Functional residual capacity (FRC) is reached.
B) Vital capacity (VC) is reached.
C) Total lung capacity (TLC) is reached.
D) Residual volume (RV) is reached.

Answer 2

Functional residual capacity (FRC) is reached.

Question 3

What nerve provides the lungs with parasympathetic innervation?

A) Vagus
B) Phrenic
C) Brachial
D) Pectoral

Answer 3

Vagus

Question 4

The nurse is describing the slit-shaped space between the true vocal cords. What term should the nurse use?

A) Glottis
B) Epiglottis
C) Larynx
D) Carina

Question 5

During inspiration, muscular contraction of the diaphragm causes air to move into the lung. What is the mechanism that allows air to enter the lungs?

A) There is a decrease in intra-alveolar pressure and shortening of the rib cage.
B) There is a decrease in the size of the thorax and alveolar expansion.
C) There is an increase in the size of the thorax and creation of negative pressure.
D) There is an increase in atmospheric pressure and intrapleural pressure.

Question 6

Under most circumstances, increased work of breathing results in:

A) increased partial pressure of O₂ in the lungs.
B) increased oxygen consumption.
C) decreased PaCO₂.
D) alterations in alveolar perfusion.

Question 7

A nurse recalls that the pleurae are examples of _____ membranes.

A) mucous
B) serous
C) synovial
D) peritoneal

Question 8

A newborn is in respiratory distress and requires ventilation. Tests reveal that he does not produce surfactant due to the absence of:

A) mucus-producing cells.
B) type II alveolar cells.
C) alveolar macrophages.
D) goblet cells.

Question 9

What is one of the functions of the pulmonary system?

A) Expelling of bacteria
B) Exchange of gases between the environment and blood
C) Movement of blood into and out of the capillaries
D) Principal mechanism for cooling of the heart

Question 10

If an individual with respiratory difficulty were retaining too much carbon dioxide, which of the following compensatory responses would the nurse expect to be initiated?

A) Increase in respiratory rate
B) Decrease in ventilation rate
C) Increase in tidal volume
D) Vasodilation of the pulmonary arterioles

Question 11

How does surfactant facilitate alveolar distension and ventilation?

A) It decreases thoracic compliance.
B) It attracts water to the alveolar surface.
C) It decreases surface tension in alveoli.
D) It increases diffusion in alveoli.

Question 12

What term is used to describe receptors that respond to increased pulmonary capillary pressure?

A) Irritant receptors
B) Chemoreceptors
C) Stretch receptors
D) J-receptors

Question 13

The nurse is describing the movement of blood into and out of the capillary beds of the lungs to the body organs and tissues. What term should the nurse use to describe this process?

A) Perfusion
B) Ventilation
C) Diffusion
D) Circulation

Question 14

The nasopharynx is lined with a ciliated mucosal membrane with a highly vascular blood supply. What is one function of this membrane?

A) To absorb air
B) To humidify air
C) To cool air
D) To exchange gases

Question 15

What is the pressure required to inflate an alveolus inversely related to?

A) Wall thickness
B) Surface tension
C) Minute volume
D) Alveolar radius

Question 16

The nurse is describing the receptors in the lung that decrease ventilatory rate and volume when stimulated. Which receptors is the nurse discussing?

A) Carbon dioxide receptors
B) Baroreceptors
C) Stretch receptors
D) Chemoreceptors

Question 17

After entering a room of chemical fog, a 20-year-old male cannot stop coughing. Which of the following structures are primarily responsible for his response?

A) Upper respiratory tract chemoreceptors
B) Irritant receptors in the trachea and large airways
C) Irritant receptors in the nostrils
D) Upper respiratory nasal hairs and turbinates

Question 18

While reviewing the results of the pulmonary functions test, the nurse is aware that the maximum amount of gas that can be displaced (expired) from the lung is called:

A) vital capacity (VC).
B) total lung capacity.
C) functional capacity.
D) residual volume.

Question 19

A patient involved in a motor vehicle accident experiences a severe head injury and dies as a result of the loss of respirations. What area of the brain was most likely damaged?

A) Cerebral cortex
B) Thalamus
C) Basal ganglia
D) Brainstem

Question 20

A patient is experiencing respiratory difficulty and retaining too much carbon dioxide. Which receptor sites would be stimulated in an attempt to maintain a normal homeostatic state?

A) Irritant
B) Stretch
C) Peripheral
D) Central

Question 21

At sea level, the partial pressure of oxygen is approximately ___% (round to the nearest whole number).

Question 22

In a patient with acidosis, which way will the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve shift?

A) To the right, causing more O₂ to be released to the cells
B) To the left, allowing less O₂ to be released to the cells
C) Downward, allowing less O₂ to dissolve in the plasma
D) Upward, allowing more O₂ to dissolve in the plasma

Question 23

How is carbon dioxide (CO₂) mainly transported in the blood?

A) Attached to oxygen (O₂)
B) Dissolved in red blood cells
C) Combined with albumin
D) In the form of bicarbonate

Question 24

_____ seconds is required for oxygen (O₂) concentration to equilibrate (equalize) across the alveolocapillary membrane.

Question 25

____% of oxygen (O₂) enters the bloodstream bound to hemoglobin.

Question 26

Where does the diffusion of respiratory gases takes place?

A) Alveolocapillary membrane
B) Visceral pleurae
C) Parietal pleurae
D) Respiratory centre

Question 27

Pulmonary function tests reveal that an 80-year-old dyspneic patient has an increase in residual volume. A nurse suspects that the most likely cause of the increased residual volume is _____ in lung compliance.

A) an increase
B) a decrease
C) no change
D) an absence

Question 28

A patient asks how oxygen is transported in the body. The nurse's best response is that most oxygen (O₂) is transported:

A) dissolved in the plasma.
B) bound to hemoglobin.
C) in the form of carbon dioxide (CO₂).
D) as a free-floating molecule.

Question 29

What physiology is present at the base of the lungs?

A) Arterial perfusion pressure is less than that of alveolar gas pressure.
B) Arterial perfusion pressure and alveolar gas pressure are less than they are at the apex.
C) Arterial perfusion pressure exceeds alveolar gas pressure.
D) Arterial perfusion and alveolar gas pressure are equal.

Question 30

What is the partial pressure of oxygen in the lung given the following conditions? Percentage of oxygen in air: 20
Barometric pressure: 700 mm Hg

A) 111 mm Hg
B) 124 mm Hg
C) 131 mm Hg
D) 140 mm Hg

Question 31

While auscultating a patient's lungs, a nurse recalls that the alveoli in the apices of the lungs are _____ than alveoli in the bases.

A) larger
B) more numerous
C) more compliant
D) less perfused

Question 32

Which structures may be found in the walls of the respiratory bronchi? (Select all that apply.)

A) Smooth muscle
B) Surfactant-producing glands
C) Goblet cells
D) Ciliated cells
E) Epithelial lining