a&p i case studies

7/23/2019 a&p I case studies

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ap-i-case-studies 1/10

Chapter 1

Critical Thinking Questions

1. A 67-year old man is found dead after being involved in an unwitnessed automobile

accident. His family reports that he had a history of heart disease and diabetes

mellitus. An autopsy is ordered to determine the cause of death. Describe the

procedures used in an autopsy and what the coroner would examine in this specific

case to make a determination.

2. A 37-year old woman is admitted to the hospital after complaining of chest pains.

She admits to having had severe headaches for several days prior to seeking

medical help. She is also taking medications for high blood pressure and is four

months pregnant. Which medical imaging procedures listed in your text would be the

best choice of a physician attempting to determine her condition? (Assume all

equipment is available and there are unlimited funds to cover costs incurred.)

Chapter 2


1. Buffer systems are vital chemicals that help to maintain the pH of body fluids. Using

the carbonic acid-bicarbonate buffer pair as an example, explain how the buffer

operates to counteract a strong acid or a strong base.

2. Compare the diagrams of the chemical structures of the two major categories of

energy-providing molecules in our food: carbohydrates and lipids. What is it about

the structure of lipids that causes them to contain so many more calories than an

equivalent volume of carbohydrates?



Chapter 3


1.

The systems of your body are capable of performing specialized functions that keep

you alive and enable you to reproduce. In a very general kind of way, a cell is also

capable of performing specific functions that maintain it on a daily basis and enable

it to reproduce. For each of the following functions, list all of the parts of a

generalized cell that might be involved support, movement, coordination, respiration,

digestion, transportation, excretion, food procurement, energy production, making

proteins, and reproduction.

2. How can an adult lose billions of cells from all parts of the body each day and still

survive?

Chapter 4


1. Assume that a person has just sustained a penetrating wound in an automobile

accident. Initial observation indicates that the skin, underlying muscles, and several

nerves have been damaged. Based on your knowledge of tissue repair, how would

you assess the degree of repair anticipated for each of the three tissues?

2. What is the advantage of several layers of squamous epithelium rather than one

thicker single layer of columnar epithelial cells in a place such as the surface of the

skin?



3. As people age, their facial features change somewhat; not only does skin fold and

wrinkle, but the nose and ears appear to change in size. What tissue forms the

framework for these structures, and why does the size change occur?

Chapter 5


1. A victim of a fire is admitted to the emergency room. You observe considerable

damage to the epidermis and dermis of both arms and the front and back portions of

the trunk. You also note patches of charred skin and insensitivity to touch. What type

of burn is indicated by these characteristics? Using the Lund-Browder method as a

guide, estimate how much of the person’s body is burned. What is the probability of

scarring? Explain your answer.

2. Explain why a person who lived in a dark cave might have weaker bones and teeth

than someone who lived outdoors, even if their diets were the same. (Hint: Calcium

and phosphorus are important to bone and tooth structures.)

3. A 70 year old man was diagnosed by his dermatologist with the three forms

of skin cancer. Describe the types of skin cancer the patient has, the possible

treatment for each type, and the prognosis.


1. A 17-year-old male is admitted to the emergency room with a possible fracture of the

tibia. Roentgenograms (x-rays of his leg are taken), and he explains to you that the

accident occurred while he was playing basketball. He also tells you that he expects

to play basketball when he enters college in the fall and asks you if you think he will



grow any more. Examining the roetgenograms, you observe that the epiphyseal

cartilage of his shin bone appears undamaged by the injury. Based on this

observation, how would you answer his question about his future growth?

2. A 55-year-old woman is told by her physician that she has osteoporosis. He explains

to her that her condition is related to “change of life.” What are three ways by which

she might have prevented or forestalled this situation and what might the physician

suggest to improve the present condition?

3. The ski patrol were called to two skiing accidents. The first accident involved a 16

year old male who sustained a fracture to his tibia and fibula. The second accident

involved a 35 year old female who damaged the articular cartilage in her knee.

Which of the two accident victims will heal faster? Be able to explain why.

Chapter 7


1. A six-year-old child is diagnosed with severe scoliosis. Considering what you know

about abnormal spinal curvatures and about the thoracic cavity, what risks would

you expect a physician to outline for the parents of this child?

2. As you were driving down the highway, you observed a one car wreck. When you

stopped to render aid, the driver of the car complained of chest pain in the area of

the ribs and pain upon breathing after impacting the steering wheel of his car. What

might be the cause of the pain and the possible consequences?



Chapter 8


1. A 25-year-old obstetrical patient confides that she is quite concerned about the very

large size of the baby she is carrying relative to her small frame and possible

problems she might have at the time of delivery. Explain the various adaptations of

the female skeleton that will help her during delivery. Also explain to her the

diagnostic techniques that can be utilized to help rule out a true problem with

delivery.

2.

You have been a runner all of your life. Yesterday, you ran down a street undergoing

construction and today your right leg and knee hurt. Explain what possible problem

might be occurring with your knee joint.

3. Explain why the pectoral girdle is less stable than the pelvic girdle.

Chapter 9


1. A patient is diagnosed as having the following clinical symptoms: swollen joints, pain

and tenderness in the joints, and some joint immobility. What is the probable

disorder? Since no bone spurs have formed, what disorder could be ruled out? What

condition is suspected if the patient has an excessive buildup of uric acid in the

blood?

2. An exercise instructor and an anatomy instructor got together and decided to test

their students together. The test question required the students to describe exercise



activities that include each of the different synovial joint movements. What exercises

would demonstrate or include each of the synovial joint movements?

Chapter 10


1. A patient is admitted to the hospital for a series of diagnostic tests. Evaluation

indicates the following symptoms: drooping of the eyelids, poor muscle tone, flaccid

skeletal muscles, speech problems, and low levels of acetylcholine. What is the

probable diagnosis? What is the reason for the atrophy of the skeletal muscles?

2. A long-distance runner is about to enter a 10-kilometer race. Prior to the race, he

spends several minutes warming up. After the race, he is so out of breath that he

collapses just after crossing the finish line. What kind of muscle contraction is

involved in warming up? Explain the operation of the principle of warming up. Why

was the runner out of breath after the race? What was happening inside his body

while he was attempting to catch his breath?

Chapter 11


1. Your next-door neighbor has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. Your neighbor wants

you to explain what Bell’s palsy is and what tissues are affected. What will you tell

your neighbor?

2. The pitcher of your son’s little league baseball team has a rotator cuff injury. What is

this injury and what might cause it?



3. A local athlete pulled his groin during a game. What is a pulled groin and what

muscles are affected?

Chapter 12


1. Given a diagram of a multi-polar neuron, carefully detail the events that occur in

each part of the neuron and the functions of each part of the neuron.

2. You have a patient who has been diagnosed with MS. The patient wants to know

exactly what is happening to his body. Explain the normal formation and function of

the myelin sheaths and what is occurring to the myelin sheaths in your patient’s

body.

Chapter 13


1. After touching a very hot barbecue grill, you immediately withdraw your hand. What

kind of reflex arc is involved? Where are the receptors located? What is the function

of the receptors? Where is the center in this reflex arc? What is the role of the

effector?

2. A patient with a suspected neurological disorder is examined and found to have an

exaggerated patellar reflex and no abdominal reflex. Describe a normal patellar

reflex and a normal abdominal reflex. In view of the findings, where is the probable



site of injury or disease in the central nervous system? If your diagnosis is correct,

what body activities are most likely to be affected?

3. Explain why spinal segment #25 does not lie under vertebra #25 (lumbar vertebra

#5, or L5). Why is this knowledge useful in performing a spinal tap (lumbar

puncture)?

Chapter 14


1. A 35-year-old male exhibits the following symptoms: tremors of the arms and hands,

rigidity of the facial muscles, wide-eyed unblinking stare, and saliva drooling from the

corners of the mouth. What is the probable disorder? How may the condition be

treated?

2. An 18-year-old male was involved in a car wreck where he suffered a whiplash

injury. Based on your knowledge of the brain stem, what problems might he be

facing depending on the extent of his injuries?

Chapter 15


1. Two sisters, Kristin and Kathy, are out for a drive when a car attempting to pass

them careens off the road and rolls over onto its roof, coming to rest in the median

strip of the highway. The sisters stop their car and attempt to give assistance to the

driver, who identifies himself as Michael and who is still inside the car. Kristin

observes that the driver has sustained a serious compound fracture of the leg and

promptly faints. Kathy, on the other hand, is able to lift several hundred pounds of



wreckage off of the driver’s leg, which was trapped under the car, and pull Michael to

safety just before the car is consumed by fire. Explain how the autonomic nervous

system could mediate such different reactions to the situation as experienced by

Kristin and Kathy.

2. We have all heard that we should not eat a large and heavy meal and immediately

go out and do some vigorous swimming. Based on your knowledge of the ANS,

explain why we shouldn’t attempt vigorous exercise immediately after eating a large

meal.

Chapter 16


1. A patient being treated for a liver disorder complains of pain in the neck region. She

is quite concerned that the newly felt pain so far removed from her liver may be an

added complication. Explain to her why it is possible to feel pain in a surface area of

the body quite far removed from the stimulated organ. What is this phenomenon

called? Give several examples of the phenomenon.

2. A DWI suspect was stopped by a police officer who administered a field sobriety

test. The suspect admitted to having several drinks before driving and showed signs

of intoxication including slurred speech, slowed reflexes, and lack of balance.

Explain what neural and/or spinal events have resulted in this condition, including

the possible pathways involved.



Chapter 17


1. The seventh grade class of a junior high school has just completed its annual eye

examination. The examiner determines that there are only two abnormal cases. One

child has myopia and the other hypermetropia. What is myopia? Why does it occur?

How should it be corrected? What is hypermetropia? Why does it occur? How

should it be corrected?

2. A sixteen-hear-old boy has been diagnosed with partial deafness in both of his ears.

Prior to the diagnosis, he spent most of his free time listening to loud music from the

earphones he always wore. Explain what might be the cause of his deafness.

a&p i case studies

Documents