Free CPMS Medical Terminology and Anatomy Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 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:
- Inflammation of the kidney
- A tumor in the nephron
- Hardening of the kidney arteries
- Stones in the kidney (Correct answer)
Correct 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.
Question 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?
- Lying on the back, face upward
- Lying on the left side
- Lying face down (Correct answer)
- Sitting upright
Correct 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'.
Question 3: Which of the following describes the surgical procedure 'cholecystectomy'?
- Incision into the gallbladder
- Surgical removal of the gallbladder (Correct answer)
- Visual examination of the common bile duct
- Surgical repair of the pancreas
Correct 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.
Question 4: A patient is diagnosed with hypertension and bradycardia. While documenting, the scribe should understand that these two conditions, respectively, refer to:
- Low blood pressure and a fast heart rate
- High blood pressure and a slow heart rate (Correct answer)
- Normal blood pressure and an irregular heart rate
- Fluctuating blood pressure and a normal heart rate
Correct 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).
Question 5: The diaphragm separates which two body cavities?
- Cranial and spinal cavities
- Abdominal and pelvic cavities
- Thoracic and abdominal cavities (Correct answer)
- Dorsal and ventral cavities
Correct 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.
Question 6: A physician notes 'ecchymosis' on the patient's left arm. This term refers to which of the following physical exam findings?
- A raised, itchy rash
- A deep laceration
- A bluish discoloration of the skin caused by bleeding underneath (Correct answer)
- Swelling with fluid accumulation
Correct 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.
Free CPMS Medical Terminology and Anatomy Questions and Answers
A patient's chart indicates they are suffering from 'nephrolithiasis'.
A medical scribe should understand this to mean the patient has a condition involving: