NU 518
EXAM 2
STUDY GUIDE
University of South Alabama.
This document provides a focused
study guide
It summarizes key concepts, lecture highlights, and
exam-relevant material to support efficient last-
minute review. The guide is structured to help
students reinforce understanding, identify weak areas, and
prepare confidently for the assessment.
, NU 518
Exam II
Study Guide
Please do not take this exam lightly. The test items require that you focus on details
in your text. The test items are specific and for the most part concrete. Skimming
the book will not be sufficient.
The exam will consist of 50 multiple choice and fill in the blank questions.
Remember that the test is comprehensive so material from the previous chapters
will be included. The breakdown of questions will include:
Skin, Hair, Nails
Head, Neck, Face
Eyes
Ears
Nose, Mouth and Throat
Other from previous material
For all systems, review the anatomy and physiology. There will be test questions on
anatomy and physiology!!
SKIN
1. Why is a skin assessment important? What general information about the body
as a whole is obtained through a skin assessment? Know important issues to ask
when taking a history about the skin. Correlate sun sensitivity to medications
taken by patient.
2. What external variables effect your findings when assessing the skin?
Cold – Can cause vasoconstriction or slow capillary refill.
Warm – Can cause sweating, vasodilation.
Poor lighting – Cause cause shadows, or your to misinterpret
colors/signs.
3. Look for transcultural considerations that effect color of skin. Pay particular
attention to P. 249 – Detecting color changes in light and dark skin. (Pallor,
cyanosis, erythema, and jaundice)
Pallor – Light skin – generalized pallor. Dark skin – yellow-brown or ashen-
gray; dull.
Albinism - Light skin - Whitish pink. Dark skin - Tan, cream, white.
Cyanosis – Light skin – dusky blue. Dark skin – Dull, lifeless, but nearly
undetectable. Check conjunctivae, oral mucosa, nail beds
Erythema – Hyperemia. Light skin – Red, bright pink. Dark skin – Purplish;
palpate for warmth.
, Polycythemia – Light skin. Ruddy blue in face, oral mucosa,
conjunctiva, hands and feet. Dark skin. Check for redness in the lips.
Carbon monoxide poisoning – Light skin. Cherry red face/torso. Dark
skin. Cherry red lips/nails/oral mucosa.
Venous stasis – Dusky rubor in dependant extremities. Dark skin –
Easily masked. Palpate for edema or warmth.
Jaundice – Light skin – Yellow in sclera, hard palate, mucous membranes,
skin. Dark skin – Yellow in hard/soft palate junction and palms.
Carotenemia – Light skin. Yellow-orange in palms soles, forehead,
nasolabial folds. Dark skin. Yellow-orange in palms and soles.
Uremia – Light skin. Orange-green or gray pallor. Dark skin.
Masked. Rely on lab and clinical findings.
4. Know the following terms related to the color of the skin: pallor, erythema,
cyanosis and jaundice. Know the physiologic reasons underlying these changes
in color.
Pallor – White. Caused by vasoconstriction and the loss of red-pink tones
from hemoglobin. Pallor can be caused by anemia, shock, cold, smoking, stress, or the
presence of edema.
Erythema – Red. Caused by excess blood (hyperemia) in dilated superficial
capillaries, such as in inflammation. Erythema occurs with polycythemia, venous
stasis, carbon monoxide poisoning, and the extravascular presence of red blood cells
(petechiae, ecchymosis, hematoma).
Cyanosis – Blue. Caused by tissues not being adequately perfused by
oxygenated blood. Cyanosis indicates hypoxemia and occurs with shock, heart failure,
chronic bronchitis, and congenital heart disease. A person who is anemic could have
hypoxemia without ever looking blue because not enough hemoglobin is present (either
oxygenated or reduced) to color the skin. On the other hand, a person with polycythemia
(an increase in the number of red blood cells) looks ruddy blue at all times and may not
necessarily be hypoxemic. This person just is unable to fully oxygenate the massive
numbers of red blood cells.
Jaundice – Yellow. Caused by elevated bilirubin in the blood. First seen in
the junction of the hard and soft pallet and in the sclera. Jaundice occurs with
hepatitis, cirrhosis, sickle-cell disease, transfusion reaction, and hemolytic disease of the
newborn.
5. Know the technique used to effectively assess skin temperature. Understand
underlying physiologic reasons for temperature changes.
Use the dorsa of the hand to palpate bilaterally. Should be equal and warm,
cooler in extremities.
Hypothermia – Generalized coolness in shock. Localized in extremity
immobility, peripheral artery insufficiency, Ray Naud’s disease.
EXAM 2
STUDY GUIDE
University of South Alabama.
This document provides a focused
study guide
It summarizes key concepts, lecture highlights, and
exam-relevant material to support efficient last-
minute review. The guide is structured to help
students reinforce understanding, identify weak areas, and
prepare confidently for the assessment.
, NU 518
Exam II
Study Guide
Please do not take this exam lightly. The test items require that you focus on details
in your text. The test items are specific and for the most part concrete. Skimming
the book will not be sufficient.
The exam will consist of 50 multiple choice and fill in the blank questions.
Remember that the test is comprehensive so material from the previous chapters
will be included. The breakdown of questions will include:
Skin, Hair, Nails
Head, Neck, Face
Eyes
Ears
Nose, Mouth and Throat
Other from previous material
For all systems, review the anatomy and physiology. There will be test questions on
anatomy and physiology!!
SKIN
1. Why is a skin assessment important? What general information about the body
as a whole is obtained through a skin assessment? Know important issues to ask
when taking a history about the skin. Correlate sun sensitivity to medications
taken by patient.
2. What external variables effect your findings when assessing the skin?
Cold – Can cause vasoconstriction or slow capillary refill.
Warm – Can cause sweating, vasodilation.
Poor lighting – Cause cause shadows, or your to misinterpret
colors/signs.
3. Look for transcultural considerations that effect color of skin. Pay particular
attention to P. 249 – Detecting color changes in light and dark skin. (Pallor,
cyanosis, erythema, and jaundice)
Pallor – Light skin – generalized pallor. Dark skin – yellow-brown or ashen-
gray; dull.
Albinism - Light skin - Whitish pink. Dark skin - Tan, cream, white.
Cyanosis – Light skin – dusky blue. Dark skin – Dull, lifeless, but nearly
undetectable. Check conjunctivae, oral mucosa, nail beds
Erythema – Hyperemia. Light skin – Red, bright pink. Dark skin – Purplish;
palpate for warmth.
, Polycythemia – Light skin. Ruddy blue in face, oral mucosa,
conjunctiva, hands and feet. Dark skin. Check for redness in the lips.
Carbon monoxide poisoning – Light skin. Cherry red face/torso. Dark
skin. Cherry red lips/nails/oral mucosa.
Venous stasis – Dusky rubor in dependant extremities. Dark skin –
Easily masked. Palpate for edema or warmth.
Jaundice – Light skin – Yellow in sclera, hard palate, mucous membranes,
skin. Dark skin – Yellow in hard/soft palate junction and palms.
Carotenemia – Light skin. Yellow-orange in palms soles, forehead,
nasolabial folds. Dark skin. Yellow-orange in palms and soles.
Uremia – Light skin. Orange-green or gray pallor. Dark skin.
Masked. Rely on lab and clinical findings.
4. Know the following terms related to the color of the skin: pallor, erythema,
cyanosis and jaundice. Know the physiologic reasons underlying these changes
in color.
Pallor – White. Caused by vasoconstriction and the loss of red-pink tones
from hemoglobin. Pallor can be caused by anemia, shock, cold, smoking, stress, or the
presence of edema.
Erythema – Red. Caused by excess blood (hyperemia) in dilated superficial
capillaries, such as in inflammation. Erythema occurs with polycythemia, venous
stasis, carbon monoxide poisoning, and the extravascular presence of red blood cells
(petechiae, ecchymosis, hematoma).
Cyanosis – Blue. Caused by tissues not being adequately perfused by
oxygenated blood. Cyanosis indicates hypoxemia and occurs with shock, heart failure,
chronic bronchitis, and congenital heart disease. A person who is anemic could have
hypoxemia without ever looking blue because not enough hemoglobin is present (either
oxygenated or reduced) to color the skin. On the other hand, a person with polycythemia
(an increase in the number of red blood cells) looks ruddy blue at all times and may not
necessarily be hypoxemic. This person just is unable to fully oxygenate the massive
numbers of red blood cells.
Jaundice – Yellow. Caused by elevated bilirubin in the blood. First seen in
the junction of the hard and soft pallet and in the sclera. Jaundice occurs with
hepatitis, cirrhosis, sickle-cell disease, transfusion reaction, and hemolytic disease of the
newborn.
5. Know the technique used to effectively assess skin temperature. Understand
underlying physiologic reasons for temperature changes.
Use the dorsa of the hand to palpate bilaterally. Should be equal and warm,
cooler in extremities.
Hypothermia – Generalized coolness in shock. Localized in extremity
immobility, peripheral artery insufficiency, Ray Naud’s disease.
