1) Which of the choices below is not a functional process performed by the respiratory system?
A) pulmonary ventilation
B) transport of respiratory gases
C) external respiration
D) pulmonary respiration
Answer: B
2) The loudness of a person's voice depends on the ________.
A) thickness of vestibular folds
B) length of the vocal folds
C) strength of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles
D) force with which air rushes across the vocal folds
Answer: D
3) The walls of the alveoli are composed of two types of cells, type I and type II. The function of type II is to ________.
A) secrete surfactant
B) trap dust and other debris
C) replace mucus in the alveoli
D) protect the lungs from bacterial invasion
Answer: A
4) Complete the following statement using the choices below. Air moves out of the lungs when the pressure inside the lungs is
A) less than the pressure in the atmosphere.
B) greater than the pressure in the atmosphere.
C) equal to the pressure in the atmosphere.
D) greater than the intra-alveolar pressure.
Answer: B
5) Unlike inspiration, expiration is a passive act because no muscular contractions are involved. Expiration, however, depends on two factors. Which of the choices below lists those two factors?
A) the recoil of elastic fibers that were stretched during inspiration and the inward pull of surface tension due to the film of alveolar fluid
B) the expansion of respiratory muscles that were contracted during inspiration and the lack of surface tension on the alveolar wall
C) the negative feedback of expansion fibers used during inspiration and the outward pull of surface tension due to surfactant
D) combined amount of CO2 in the blood and air in the alveoli
Answer: A
6) Which of the following maintains the patency (openness) of the trachea?
A) surface tension of water
B) surfactant
C) cartilage rings
D) pseudostratified ciliated epithelium
Answer: C
7) Intrapulmonary pressure is the ________.
A) pressure within the pleural cavity
B) pressure within the alveoli of the lungs
C) negative pressure in the intrapleural space
D) difference between atmospheric pressure and respiratory pressure
Answer: B
8) The relationship between the pressure and volume of gases is given by ________.
A) Boyle's law
B) Henry's law
C) Charles' law
D) Dalton's law
Answer: A
9) The statement, "in a mixture of gases, the total pressure is the sum of the individual partial pressures of gases in the mixture" paraphrases ________.
A) Henry's law
B) Boyle's law
C) Dalton's law
D) Charles' law
Answer: C
10) Surfactant helps to prevent the alveoli from collapsing by ________.
A) humidifying the air before it enters
B) warming the air before it enters
C) interfering with the cohesiveness of water molecules, thereby reducing the surface tension of alveolar fluid
D) protecting the surface of alveoli from dehydration and other environmental variations
Answer: C
11) For gas exchange to be efficient, the respiratory membrane must be ________.
A) at least 3 micrometers thick
B) 0.5 to 1 micrometer thick
C) between 5 and 6 micrometers thick
D) The thickness of the respiratory membrane is not important in the efficiency of gas exchange.
Answer: B
12) With the Bohr effect, more oxygen is released because a(n) ________.
A) decrease in pH (acidosis) strengthens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
B) decrease in pH (acidosis) weakens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
C) increase in pH (alkalosis) strengthens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
D) increase in pH (alkalosis) weakens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
Answer: B
13) The most powerful respiratory stimulus for breathing in a healthy person is ________.
A) loss of oxygen in tissues
B) increase of carbon dioxide
C) pH (acidosis)
D) pH (alkalosis)
Answer: B
14) Nerve impulses from ________ will result in inspiration.
A) the ventral respiratory group
B) the chemoreceptor center
C) Broca's center
D) the preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus
Answer: A
15) In the plasma, the quantity of oxygen in solution is ________.
A) only about 1.5% of the oxygen carried in dissolved form
B) about equal to the oxygen combined with hemoglobin
C) greater than the oxygen combined with hemoglobin
D) not present except where it is combined with carrier molecules
Answer: A
16) Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A) During fetal life, lungs are filled with fluid.
B) Respiratory rate is lowest in newborn infants.
C) Descent of the diaphragm results in abdominal breathing.
D) The chest wall becomes more rigid with age.
Answer: B
17) Which of the choices below describes the forces that act to pull the lungs away from the thorax wall and thus collapse the lungs?
A) the natural tendency for the lungs to recoil and the surface tension of the alveolar fluid
B) compliance and transpulmonary pressures
C) the natural tendency for the lungs to recoil and transpulmonary pressures
D) compliance and the surface tension of the alveolar fluid
Answer: A
18) Which of the following does not influence the increase in ventilation that occurs as exercise is initiated?
A) psychic stimuli
B) decrease in lactic acid levels
C) proprioceptors
D) simultaneous cortical motor activation of the skeletal muscles and respiratory center
Answer: B
19) Which of the following is not a form of lung cancer?
A) adenocarcinoma
B) Kaposi's sarcoma
C) small cell carcinoma
D) squamous cell carcinoma
Answer: B
20) Which of the following is not an event necessary to supply the body with O2 and dispose of CO2?
A) pulmonary ventilation
B) blood pH adjustment
C) internal respiration
D) external respiration
Answer: B
21) Which of the following is not true of the respiratory tract from the medium bronchi to the aveoli?
A) Cartilage gradually decreases and disappears at the bronchioles.
B) Resistance to air flow increases due to the increase in cross-sectional diameter.
C) Proportionally, smooth muscle decreases uniformly.
D) Lining of the tubes changes from ciliated columnar to simple squamous epithelium in the alveoli.
Answer: B
22) Which of the following determines lung compliance?
A) airway opening
B) flexibility of the thoracic cage
C) muscles of inspiration
D) alveolar surface tension
Answer: D
23) Tidal volume is air ________.
A) remaining in the lungs after forced expiration
B) exchanged during normal breathing
C) inhaled after normal inspiration
D) forcibly expelled after normal expiration
Answer: B
24) Which of the choices below determines the direction of respiratory gas movement?
A) solubility in water
B) partial pressure gradient
C) the temperature
D) molecular weight and size of the gas molecule
Answer: B
25) Possible causes of hypoxia include ________.
A) too little oxygen in the atmosphere
B) obstruction of the esophagus
C) taking several rapid deep breaths
D) getting very cold
Answer: A
26) The lung volume that represents the total volume of exchangeable air is the ________.
A) tidal volume
B) vital capacity
C) inspiratory capacity
D) expiratory reserve volume
Answer: B
27) Because the lungs are filled with fluid during fetal life, which of the following statements is true regarding respiratory exchange?
A) Respiratory exchanges are made through the ductus arteriosus.
B) Respiratory exchanges are not necessary.
C) Respiratory exchanges are made through the placenta.
D) Because the lungs develop later in gestation, fetuses do not need a mechanism for respiratory exchange.
Answer: C
28) Which of the following is not a stimulus for breathing?
A) rising carbon dioxide levels
B) rising blood pressure
C) arterial Po2 below 60 mm Hg
D) arterial pH resulting from CO2 retention
Answer: B
29) Respiratory control centers are located in the ________.
A) midbrain and medulla
B) medulla and pons
C) pons and midbrain
D) upper spinal cord and medulla
Answer: B
30) The amount of air that can be inspired above the tidal volume is called ________.
A) reserve air
B) expiratory reserve
C) inspiratory reserve
D) vital capacity
Answer: C
31) Which statement about CO2 is incorrect?
A) Its concentration in the blood is decreased by hyperventilation.
B) Its accumulation in the blood is associated with a decrease in pH.
C) More CO2 dissolves in the blood plasma than is carried in the RBCs.
D) CO2 concentrations are greater in venous blood than arterial blood.
Answer: C
32) Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in the lungs and through all cell membranes by ________.
A) osmosis
B) diffusion
C) filtration
D) active transport
Answer: B
33) Select the correct statement about the pharynx.
A) The pharyngeal tonsil is located in the laryngopharynx.
B) The auditory tube drains into the nasopharynx.
C) The laryngopharynx blends posteriorly into the nasopharynx.
D) The palatine tonsils are embedded in the lateral walls of the nasopharynx.
Answer: B
34) The larynx contains ________.
A) the thyroid cartilage
B) a cricoid cartilage also called the Adam's apple
C) an upper pair of avascular mucosal folds called true vocal folds
D) lateral cartilage ridges called false vocal folds
Answer: A
35) Which respiratory-associated muscles would contract if you were to blow up a balloon?
A) diaphragm would contract, external intercostals would relax
B) internal intercostals and abdominal muscles would contract
C) external intercostals would contract and diaphragm would relax
D) diaphragm contracts, internal intercostals would relax
Answer: B
36) How is the bulk of carbon dioxide carried in blood?
A) chemically combined with the amino acids of hemoglobin as carbaminohemoglobin in the red blood cells
B) as the bicarbonate ion in the plasma after first entering the red blood cells
C) as carbonic acid in the plasma
D) chemically combined with the heme portion of hemoglobin
Answer: B
37) Which of the following is not found on the right lobe of the lung?
A) middle lobe
B) cardiac notch
C) horizontal fissure
D) oblique fissure
Answer: B
38) Which of the choices below is not a role of the pleura?
A) allows the lungs to inflate and deflate without friction
B) helps divide the thoracic cavity into three chambers
C) helps limit the spread of local infections
D) aids in blood flow to and from the heart because the heart sits between the lungs
Answer: D
40) Factors that influence the rate and depth of breathing include ________.
A) thalamic control
B) voluntary cortical control
C) stretch receptors in the alveoli
D) composition of alveolar air
Answer: B
41) Which of the following provide the greatest surface area for gas exchange?
A) alveolar sacs
B) alveoli
C) respiratory bronchioles
D) alveolar ducts
Answer: B
42) The respiratory membrane is a combination of ________.
A) respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts
B) alveolar and capillary walls and their fused basement membranes
C) atria and alveolar sacs
D) respiratory bronchioles and alveolar sacs
Answer: B
43) Gas emboli may occur because a ________.
A) person holds his breath too long
B) diver holds his breath upon ascent
C) pilot holds her breath upon descent
D) person breathes pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber
Answer: B
44) Inspiratory capacity is ________.
A) the total amount of air that can be inspired after a tidal expiration
B) the total amount of exchangeable air
C) functional residual capacity
D) air inspired after a tidal inhalation
Answer: A
45) Which center is located in the pons?
A) pontine respirator group (PRG)
B) expiratory
C) inspiratory
D) pacemaker neuron center
Answer: A
46) The nose serves all the following functions except ________.
A) as a passageway for air movement
B) as the initiator of the cough reflex
C) warming and humidifying the air
D) cleansing the air
Answer: B
47) A premature baby usually has difficulty breathing. However, the respiratory system is developed enough for survival by ________.
A) 17 weeks
B) 24 weeks
C) 28 weeks
D) 36 weeks
Answer: C
48) Which of the following statements is true regarding the respiratory rate of a newborn?
A) The respiratory rate of a newborn is slow.
B) The respiratory rate of a newborn varies between male and female infants.
C) The respiratory rate of a newborn is approximately 30 respirations per minute.
D) The respiratory rate of a newborn is, at its highest rate, approximately 40-80 respirations per minute.
Answer: D
49) Select the correct statement about the neural mechanisms of respiratory control.
A) The pons is thought to be instrumental in the smooth transition from inspiration to expiration.
B) The dorsal respiratory group neurons depolarize in a rhythmic way to establish the pattern of breathing.
C) The pontine respirator group (PRG) continuously stimulates the medulla to provide inspiratory drive.
D) The ventral respiratory group is contained within the pons.
Answer: A
50) Which of the choices below is not a factor that promotes oxygen binding to and dissociation from hemoglobin?
A) partial pressure of oxygen
B) temperature
C) partial pressure of carbon dioxide
D) number of red blood cells
Answer: D
A) pulmonary ventilation
B) transport of respiratory gases
C) external respiration
D) pulmonary respiration
Answer: B
2) The loudness of a person's voice depends on the ________.
A) thickness of vestibular folds
B) length of the vocal folds
C) strength of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles
D) force with which air rushes across the vocal folds
Answer: D
3) The walls of the alveoli are composed of two types of cells, type I and type II. The function of type II is to ________.
A) secrete surfactant
B) trap dust and other debris
C) replace mucus in the alveoli
D) protect the lungs from bacterial invasion
Answer: A
4) Complete the following statement using the choices below. Air moves out of the lungs when the pressure inside the lungs is
A) less than the pressure in the atmosphere.
B) greater than the pressure in the atmosphere.
C) equal to the pressure in the atmosphere.
D) greater than the intra-alveolar pressure.
Answer: B
5) Unlike inspiration, expiration is a passive act because no muscular contractions are involved. Expiration, however, depends on two factors. Which of the choices below lists those two factors?
A) the recoil of elastic fibers that were stretched during inspiration and the inward pull of surface tension due to the film of alveolar fluid
B) the expansion of respiratory muscles that were contracted during inspiration and the lack of surface tension on the alveolar wall
C) the negative feedback of expansion fibers used during inspiration and the outward pull of surface tension due to surfactant
D) combined amount of CO2 in the blood and air in the alveoli
Answer: A
6) Which of the following maintains the patency (openness) of the trachea?
A) surface tension of water
B) surfactant
C) cartilage rings
D) pseudostratified ciliated epithelium
Answer: C
7) Intrapulmonary pressure is the ________.
A) pressure within the pleural cavity
B) pressure within the alveoli of the lungs
C) negative pressure in the intrapleural space
D) difference between atmospheric pressure and respiratory pressure
Answer: B
8) The relationship between the pressure and volume of gases is given by ________.
A) Boyle's law
B) Henry's law
C) Charles' law
D) Dalton's law
Answer: A
9) The statement, "in a mixture of gases, the total pressure is the sum of the individual partial pressures of gases in the mixture" paraphrases ________.
A) Henry's law
B) Boyle's law
C) Dalton's law
D) Charles' law
Answer: C
10) Surfactant helps to prevent the alveoli from collapsing by ________.
A) humidifying the air before it enters
B) warming the air before it enters
C) interfering with the cohesiveness of water molecules, thereby reducing the surface tension of alveolar fluid
D) protecting the surface of alveoli from dehydration and other environmental variations
Answer: C
11) For gas exchange to be efficient, the respiratory membrane must be ________.
A) at least 3 micrometers thick
B) 0.5 to 1 micrometer thick
C) between 5 and 6 micrometers thick
D) The thickness of the respiratory membrane is not important in the efficiency of gas exchange.
Answer: B
12) With the Bohr effect, more oxygen is released because a(n) ________.
A) decrease in pH (acidosis) strengthens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
B) decrease in pH (acidosis) weakens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
C) increase in pH (alkalosis) strengthens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
D) increase in pH (alkalosis) weakens the hemoglobin-oxygen bond
Answer: B
13) The most powerful respiratory stimulus for breathing in a healthy person is ________.
A) loss of oxygen in tissues
B) increase of carbon dioxide
C) pH (acidosis)
D) pH (alkalosis)
Answer: B
14) Nerve impulses from ________ will result in inspiration.
A) the ventral respiratory group
B) the chemoreceptor center
C) Broca's center
D) the preoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus
Answer: A
15) In the plasma, the quantity of oxygen in solution is ________.
A) only about 1.5% of the oxygen carried in dissolved form
B) about equal to the oxygen combined with hemoglobin
C) greater than the oxygen combined with hemoglobin
D) not present except where it is combined with carrier molecules
Answer: A
16) Which of the following statements is incorrect?
A) During fetal life, lungs are filled with fluid.
B) Respiratory rate is lowest in newborn infants.
C) Descent of the diaphragm results in abdominal breathing.
D) The chest wall becomes more rigid with age.
Answer: B
17) Which of the choices below describes the forces that act to pull the lungs away from the thorax wall and thus collapse the lungs?
A) the natural tendency for the lungs to recoil and the surface tension of the alveolar fluid
B) compliance and transpulmonary pressures
C) the natural tendency for the lungs to recoil and transpulmonary pressures
D) compliance and the surface tension of the alveolar fluid
Answer: A
18) Which of the following does not influence the increase in ventilation that occurs as exercise is initiated?
A) psychic stimuli
B) decrease in lactic acid levels
C) proprioceptors
D) simultaneous cortical motor activation of the skeletal muscles and respiratory center
Answer: B
19) Which of the following is not a form of lung cancer?
A) adenocarcinoma
B) Kaposi's sarcoma
C) small cell carcinoma
D) squamous cell carcinoma
Answer: B
20) Which of the following is not an event necessary to supply the body with O2 and dispose of CO2?
A) pulmonary ventilation
B) blood pH adjustment
C) internal respiration
D) external respiration
Answer: B
21) Which of the following is not true of the respiratory tract from the medium bronchi to the aveoli?
A) Cartilage gradually decreases and disappears at the bronchioles.
B) Resistance to air flow increases due to the increase in cross-sectional diameter.
C) Proportionally, smooth muscle decreases uniformly.
D) Lining of the tubes changes from ciliated columnar to simple squamous epithelium in the alveoli.
Answer: B
22) Which of the following determines lung compliance?
A) airway opening
B) flexibility of the thoracic cage
C) muscles of inspiration
D) alveolar surface tension
Answer: D
23) Tidal volume is air ________.
A) remaining in the lungs after forced expiration
B) exchanged during normal breathing
C) inhaled after normal inspiration
D) forcibly expelled after normal expiration
Answer: B
24) Which of the choices below determines the direction of respiratory gas movement?
A) solubility in water
B) partial pressure gradient
C) the temperature
D) molecular weight and size of the gas molecule
Answer: B
25) Possible causes of hypoxia include ________.
A) too little oxygen in the atmosphere
B) obstruction of the esophagus
C) taking several rapid deep breaths
D) getting very cold
Answer: A
26) The lung volume that represents the total volume of exchangeable air is the ________.
A) tidal volume
B) vital capacity
C) inspiratory capacity
D) expiratory reserve volume
Answer: B
27) Because the lungs are filled with fluid during fetal life, which of the following statements is true regarding respiratory exchange?
A) Respiratory exchanges are made through the ductus arteriosus.
B) Respiratory exchanges are not necessary.
C) Respiratory exchanges are made through the placenta.
D) Because the lungs develop later in gestation, fetuses do not need a mechanism for respiratory exchange.
Answer: C
28) Which of the following is not a stimulus for breathing?
A) rising carbon dioxide levels
B) rising blood pressure
C) arterial Po2 below 60 mm Hg
D) arterial pH resulting from CO2 retention
Answer: B
29) Respiratory control centers are located in the ________.
A) midbrain and medulla
B) medulla and pons
C) pons and midbrain
D) upper spinal cord and medulla
Answer: B
30) The amount of air that can be inspired above the tidal volume is called ________.
A) reserve air
B) expiratory reserve
C) inspiratory reserve
D) vital capacity
Answer: C
31) Which statement about CO2 is incorrect?
A) Its concentration in the blood is decreased by hyperventilation.
B) Its accumulation in the blood is associated with a decrease in pH.
C) More CO2 dissolves in the blood plasma than is carried in the RBCs.
D) CO2 concentrations are greater in venous blood than arterial blood.
Answer: C
32) Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged in the lungs and through all cell membranes by ________.
A) osmosis
B) diffusion
C) filtration
D) active transport
Answer: B
33) Select the correct statement about the pharynx.
A) The pharyngeal tonsil is located in the laryngopharynx.
B) The auditory tube drains into the nasopharynx.
C) The laryngopharynx blends posteriorly into the nasopharynx.
D) The palatine tonsils are embedded in the lateral walls of the nasopharynx.
Answer: B
34) The larynx contains ________.
A) the thyroid cartilage
B) a cricoid cartilage also called the Adam's apple
C) an upper pair of avascular mucosal folds called true vocal folds
D) lateral cartilage ridges called false vocal folds
Answer: A
35) Which respiratory-associated muscles would contract if you were to blow up a balloon?
A) diaphragm would contract, external intercostals would relax
B) internal intercostals and abdominal muscles would contract
C) external intercostals would contract and diaphragm would relax
D) diaphragm contracts, internal intercostals would relax
Answer: B
36) How is the bulk of carbon dioxide carried in blood?
A) chemically combined with the amino acids of hemoglobin as carbaminohemoglobin in the red blood cells
B) as the bicarbonate ion in the plasma after first entering the red blood cells
C) as carbonic acid in the plasma
D) chemically combined with the heme portion of hemoglobin
Answer: B
37) Which of the following is not found on the right lobe of the lung?
A) middle lobe
B) cardiac notch
C) horizontal fissure
D) oblique fissure
Answer: B
38) Which of the choices below is not a role of the pleura?
A) allows the lungs to inflate and deflate without friction
B) helps divide the thoracic cavity into three chambers
C) helps limit the spread of local infections
D) aids in blood flow to and from the heart because the heart sits between the lungs
Answer: D
40) Factors that influence the rate and depth of breathing include ________.
A) thalamic control
B) voluntary cortical control
C) stretch receptors in the alveoli
D) composition of alveolar air
Answer: B
41) Which of the following provide the greatest surface area for gas exchange?
A) alveolar sacs
B) alveoli
C) respiratory bronchioles
D) alveolar ducts
Answer: B
42) The respiratory membrane is a combination of ________.
A) respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts
B) alveolar and capillary walls and their fused basement membranes
C) atria and alveolar sacs
D) respiratory bronchioles and alveolar sacs
Answer: B
43) Gas emboli may occur because a ________.
A) person holds his breath too long
B) diver holds his breath upon ascent
C) pilot holds her breath upon descent
D) person breathes pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber
Answer: B
44) Inspiratory capacity is ________.
A) the total amount of air that can be inspired after a tidal expiration
B) the total amount of exchangeable air
C) functional residual capacity
D) air inspired after a tidal inhalation
Answer: A
45) Which center is located in the pons?
A) pontine respirator group (PRG)
B) expiratory
C) inspiratory
D) pacemaker neuron center
Answer: A
46) The nose serves all the following functions except ________.
A) as a passageway for air movement
B) as the initiator of the cough reflex
C) warming and humidifying the air
D) cleansing the air
Answer: B
47) A premature baby usually has difficulty breathing. However, the respiratory system is developed enough for survival by ________.
A) 17 weeks
B) 24 weeks
C) 28 weeks
D) 36 weeks
Answer: C
48) Which of the following statements is true regarding the respiratory rate of a newborn?
A) The respiratory rate of a newborn is slow.
B) The respiratory rate of a newborn varies between male and female infants.
C) The respiratory rate of a newborn is approximately 30 respirations per minute.
D) The respiratory rate of a newborn is, at its highest rate, approximately 40-80 respirations per minute.
Answer: D
49) Select the correct statement about the neural mechanisms of respiratory control.
A) The pons is thought to be instrumental in the smooth transition from inspiration to expiration.
B) The dorsal respiratory group neurons depolarize in a rhythmic way to establish the pattern of breathing.
C) The pontine respirator group (PRG) continuously stimulates the medulla to provide inspiratory drive.
D) The ventral respiratory group is contained within the pons.
Answer: A
50) Which of the choices below is not a factor that promotes oxygen binding to and dissociation from hemoglobin?
A) partial pressure of oxygen
B) temperature
C) partial pressure of carbon dioxide
D) number of red blood cells
Answer: D
