A patient is scheduled for a lumbar puncture. Which action should the nurse take when preparing this patient?

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Failed to generate a rationale of 500+ characters after 5 retries.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The correct answer is A: adrenal medulla. The adrenal medulla is part of the adrenal gland and secretes adrenaline and noradrenaline in response to stress, leading to fight-or-flight responses. The salivary gland produces saliva, the reproductive gland produces sex hormones, and the thymus produces T-cells for the immune system, none of which are related to fight-or-flight responses.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: The correct answer is B: axons. Nerve cells form long projections called axons to transmit electrical impulses away from the cell body. Axons are essential for communicating signals between different parts of the nervous system. Soma (A) refers to the cell body of the neuron, dendrites (C) are short, branched extensions that receive signals, and synapses (D) are the junctions where neurons communicate with each other, not the long projections themselves. Therefore, axons are the correct choice for the long projections formed by nerve cells.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C: Trypanosoma brucei rhodanese. East African trypanosomiasis is caused by Trypanosoma brucei, specifically the subspecies Trypanosoma brucei rhodanese. This parasite is transmitted by tsetse flies and infects humans, causing sleeping sickness. Trypanosoma cruzi (Choice A) causes Chagas disease, not East African trypanosomiasis. Trypanosoma vivax (Choice B) causes a different form of animal trypanosomiasis. Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (Choice D) is responsible for West African trypanosomiasis, not the East African form. Therefore, the correct choice is C.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Rationale for Correct Answer (C): When a spinal nerve is severed, adjacent spinal nerves can compensate and continue to carry sensations for the dermatome served by the severed nerve. This is possible due to the concept of dermatomes overlapping and the redundancy in sensory innervation. Therefore, the patient may still experience sensation in the affected area despite the specific nerve being severed. Summary of Incorrect Choices: A: Incorrect. Even if there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, severing one nerve can still have a significant impact on sensory and motor functions depending on the location and severity of the injury. B: Incorrect. Sensory loss would occur in the dermatome served by the severed nerve, but adjacent nerves can still carry sensations. D: Incorrect. Spinal nerves have both sensory and motor components, so severing a spinal nerve can affect both sensory and motor functions, not just motor function.