ATI LPN
Neurological Disorders in Medical Surgical Nursing Questions
Question 1 of 5
A 65-year-old male presents with constant falls and fatigue. His symptoms have progressively worsened throughout the years. He reports feeling unstable when standing, and has fallen 4 times in the past year. It takes him longer to perform certain activities of daily living, and describes himself as feeling weak. The patient denies any illicit drug or alcohol use. He smokes 2 packs of cigarettes daily for the past 25 years. He denies night sweats, or fever, but has lost 5 pounds over the course of 8 months. Medical history is significant for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and recently diagnosed depression. The patient appears apathetic, with mild patchy scaling on the eyebrows. A mild right hand tremor is present at rest and tempered with voluntary movement. On gait testing, the patient has a stooped posture, and takes shorter steps as he moves forward. When firmly pulling the patient by the shoulders, he falls back. Which of following best explains this patient's clinical presentation?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Rest tremor, bradykinesia, stooped posture, and postural instability (retropulsion) suggest Parkinson’s disease, caused by alpha-synuclein deposition in nigrostriatal neurons. Cerebellar atrophy causes ataxia, not rest tremor.
Question 2 of 5
The part of the brain responsible for coordinating all your movements is the:
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The cerebellum coordinates voluntary movements, balance, and posture, fine-tuning motor actions.
Question 3 of 5
Action potentials normally travel along an axon
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Action potentials propagate unidirectionally from the axon hillock (near the cell body) toward the axon terminals, away from the soma.
Question 4 of 5
One of the most important branch points in the evolution of animals and their nervous systems was the appearance of
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Bilateral symmetry allowed cephalization and centralized nervous systems, a key evolutionary step for complex behavior.
Question 5 of 5
The sophisticated behavior of mammals and birds is directly related to
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The large cerebrum in mammals and birds supports complex behaviors like problem-solving and learning.