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Medical Terminology and Anatomy Flashcards

6 cards from real CPMS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 6 Medical Terminology and Anatomy flashcards as text

  1. A patient's chart indicates they are suffering from 'nephrolithiasis'. A medical scribe should understand this to mean the patient has a condition involving:

    Answer: Stones in the kidney

    The term 'nephrolithiasis' can be broken down into its word parts: 'nephro' meaning kidney, 'lith' meaning stone, and '-iasis' meaning abnormal condition. Therefore, nephrolithiasis is the abnormal condition of having kidney stones.

  2. A physician dictates, 'The patient is lying in the prone position for the examination.' How would the medical scribe describe the patient's orientation?

    Answer: Lying face down

    In anatomical terminology, 'prone' refers to the position of the body lying face down. The opposite position, lying face up, is 'supine'.

  3. Which of the following describes the surgical procedure 'cholecystectomy'?

    Answer: Surgical removal of the gallbladder

    Breaking down the term 'cholecystectomy': 'cholecyst' refers to the gallbladder and the suffix '-ectomy' means surgical removal. Therefore, a cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder.

  4. A patient is diagnosed with hypertension and bradycardia. While documenting, the scribe should understand that these two conditions, respectively, refer to:

    Answer: High blood pressure and a slow heart rate

    Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure ('hyper-' meaning high). Bradycardia is the term for a slow heart rate ('brady-' meaning slow, and 'cardia' referring to the heart).

  5. The diaphragm separates which two body cavities?

    Answer: Thoracic and abdominal cavities

    The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that is the primary muscle of respiration. Anatomically, it serves as the partition between the thoracic cavity, which contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity.

  6. A physician notes 'ecchymosis' on the patient's left arm. This term refers to which of the following physical exam findings?

    Answer: A bluish discoloration of the skin caused by bleeding underneath

    Ecchymosis is the medical term for a bruise, which is a discoloration of the skin resulting from bleeding underneath, typically caused by trauma.