NBCMI Medical Terminology: Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is a 'lumbar puncture' (spinal tap)?
- Spinal cord medication injection
- Collecting cerebrospinal fluid from the lower back for diagnosing meningitis, MS, or cancer (Correct answer)
- Herniated disc surgery
- Draining lung fluid
Correct answer: Collecting cerebrospinal fluid from the lower back for diagnosing meningitis, MS, or cancer
A lumbar puncture collects CSF from the subarachnoid space for diagnostic testing.
Inserted between L3-L4 or L4-L5. Used to diagnose meningitis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, MS, cancer. Patient lies in fetal position. Post-procedure headache is common.
Question 2: What is 'intubation' and when is it performed?
- Inserting a feeding tube
- Placing a tube into the trachea to maintain airway and assist breathing during surgery or emergencies (Correct answer)
- Inserting a bladder catheter
- Placing IV access
Correct answer: Placing a tube into the trachea to maintain airway and assist breathing during surgery or emergencies
Intubation secures the airway by inserting an endotracheal tube through the mouth into the trachea.
Performed using a laryngoscope. Indications: general anesthesia, respiratory failure, airway protection, cardiac arrest. Related: extubation, tracheostomy, ventilator, RSI.
Question 3: What does 'debridement' involve in wound care?
- Applying a bandage
- Removing dead, damaged, or infected tissue to promote healing (Correct answer)
- Stitching a wound
- Applying medication to a wound
Correct answer: Removing dead, damaged, or infected tissue to promote healing
Debridement removes necrotic, damaged, or infected tissue to facilitate healing.
Methods: surgical/sharp, mechanical (wet-to-dry), enzymatic, autolytic, and biological (maggot therapy). Used for chronic wounds, burns, traumatic wounds, and surgical site infections.
Question 4: What is 'angioplasty'?
- Removing a brain blood clot
- Widening narrowed blood vessels using a balloon catheter, often with stent placement (Correct answer)
- A cholesterol blood test
- Stopping stomach bleeding
Correct answer: Widening narrowed blood vessels using a balloon catheter, often with stent placement
Angioplasty threads a catheter with balloon to a narrowed artery, inflates to restore blood flow, usually with stent placement.
PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) is most common. Access through femoral or radial artery under fluoroscopic guidance. Drug-eluting stents prevent restenosis.
Question 5: What is 'chemotherapy' and how does it work?
- Radiation targeting cancer
- Systemic drugs killing rapidly dividing cells, targeting cancer but also affecting some normal cells (Correct answer)
- Surgical tumor removal
- A special anti-cancer diet
Correct answer: Systemic drugs killing rapidly dividing cells, targeting cancer but also affecting some normal cells
Chemotherapy uses cytotoxic drugs targeting rapidly dividing cells throughout the body.
Side effects from affecting normal dividing cells: hair loss, nausea, anemia, immunosuppression. Can be primary, adjuvant (after surgery), neoadjuvant (before surgery), or palliative.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a 'Pap smear'?
- Diagnose UTIs
- Screen for cervical cancer by collecting cervical cells for microscopic examination (Correct answer)
- Test for STIs
- Measure pregnancy hormones
Correct answer: Screen for cervical cancer by collecting cervical cells for microscopic examination
Pap smears screen for precancerous or cancerous cervical changes, enabling early intervention.
Named after Dr. Papanicolaou. Current guidelines: start at 21, every 3 years (Pap alone) or 5 years (with HPV co-testing). Cultural sensitivity is critical as many cultures have taboos around gynecological exams.
NBCMI Medical Terminology: Procedures 3
What is a 'lumbar puncture' (spinal tap)?