Answer to Respiratory Quiz

1. When would you expect to hear rhonchi during auscultation of the lung fields?

A. mainly on expiration but possibly heard during inspiration as well

B. beginning of inspiration which can extend to expiration

C. toward the end of inspiration

D. only on expiration

The answer is A. Rhonchi are mainly on expiration but possibly heard during inspiration as well

2. You note rhonchi. How could you best describe this sound during documentation?

A. popping

B. musical whistling

C. snoring

D. squawking

The answer is C: snoring.

3. Which patient below would be at risk for experiencing high-pitched wheezes? Select all that apply:

A. A patient with COPD.

B. A patient with epiglottitis.

C. A patient with heart failure.

D. A patient with asthma.

The answers are A and D. These disease process can lead to narrowing of the airways. While epiglottitis can cause stridor, and heart failure can cause crackles.

4. How could you describe the sound of a high-pitched wheeze?

A. snoring

B. crackling, popping

C. bubbling

D. musical, whistling

The answer is D: musical, whistling. This is a sound characteristic of what high-pitched wheezes sounds like.

5. Fill-in-the-blank: Stridor can occur ___.

A. during inspiration or expiration.

B. during inspiration only.

C. during expiration only.

D. during the ending of inspiration only.

The answer is A: during inspiration or expiration

6. You are educating a patient’s parent on how to identify stridor. You ask the parent to verbalize where the sound is mainly located. Which answer by the parent is correct?

A. lower airways

B. throat

C. nasal

D. sternal

The answer is B: “throat” Stridor occurs because there is narrowing of the larynx and trachea which can happen due to swelling from an infection or blockage from an object etc. This sound is located in the throat area.

7. Which characteristic below is found with a pleural friction rub?

A. high-pitched

B. disappears with suctioning

C. pain with coughing, deep breathing, or laughing

D. mainly located in the smaller airways like the bronchioles

The answer is C. Pleural friction rub is low-pitched with a harsh grating noise and is not affected by suctioning. It causes pain with coughing/deep breathing/laughing etc. It is located within the pleural layers.

8. True or False: A pleural friction rub occurs because the layers around the lungs known as the tunica adventitia pleura and parietal pleura are inflamed and rubbing against each other.

The answer is FALSE. The statement should say: “A pleural friction rub occurs because the layers around the lungs known as the VISCERAL pleura (NOT tunica adventitia pleura) and parietal pleura are inflamed and rubbing against each other.

9. What descriptive word could the nurse use to describe the sound of coarse crackles?

A. Bubbling

B. Popping

C. Snoring

D. Harsh-grating

The answer is A: bubbling Coarse crackles can be described as sounding like gurgling or bubbling that does not go away with coughing.

10. When would you expect to auscultate coarse crackles during the respiratory cycle?

A. end of inspiration

B. beginning of inspiration

C. end of expiration

D. throughout inspiration and expiration

The answer is B. Coarse crackles occur around the beginning of inspiration and can extend to expiration, and is longer than fine crackles.

11. Where are fine crackles usually located in the respiratory system? Select-all-that-apply:

A. Bronchi

B. Trachea

C. Alveoli

D. Bronchioles

The answers are C and D. Fine crackles tend to occur in the smaller airways such as the alveoli and bronchioles.

12. Which statement below best summarizes why fine crackles are occurring in a patient?

A. “The pleural layers in the lungs are inflamed and rub against each other creating a harsh-grating sound.”

B. “When inhaled air enters into small airways that are collapsed, they suddenly explode open leading to a crackling sound.”

C. “As air leaves the trachea and bronchus it hits secretions like mucus and fluid, which creates a snoring like sound.”

D. “The narrowing of the larynx and trachea from either an object or swelling leads a popping sound on inhalation.”

The answer is B.