HA Neuro Chapter 23 Exam Questions & Answers –
Nervous System Structure, Brain Function &
Reflexes, Health Assessment study guide
1. Briefly describe the functions of the musculoskeletal system.
Question 1 The two parts of the nervous system are the:
1. motor and sensory.
2. central and peripheral.
3. peripheral and autonomic.
4. hypothalamus and cerebral.
2. central and peripheral.
The nervous system can be divided into two parts central and peripheral. The central nervous
system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the 12 pairs
of cranial nerves, the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all their branches.
Question 2 Which of the following statements is accurate concerning areas of the brain?
1. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
2. The hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep.
3. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
4. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus.
2. The hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep.
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: temperature controller, sleep
center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and coordinator of autonomic nervous
system activity and emotional status.
Question 3 The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
1. medulla.
2. cerebellum.
3. spinal cord.
4. cerebral cortex.
3. spinal cord.
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that connect the
brain to the spinal nerves, and it mediates reflexes.
, Question 4 Which of the following statements about the peripheral nervous system is correct?
1. The cranial nerves enter the brain through the spinal cord.
2. Efferent fibers carry sensory input to the central nervous system through the spinal cord.
3. The peripheral nerves are inside the central nervous system and carry impulses through their
motor fibers.
4. The peripheral nerves carry input to the central nervous system by afferent fibers and away
by efferent fibers.
4. The peripheral nerves carry input to the central nervous system by afferent fibers and away
by efferent fibers.
A nerve is a bundle of fibers outside the central nervous system. The peripheral nerves carry
input to the central nervous system by their sensory afferent fibers and deliver output from the
central nervous system by the efferent fibers.
Question 5 A 21-year-old patient has a head injury resulting from trauma and is unconscious.
There are no other injuries. During the assessment what would the nurse expect to find when
testing the patient s deep tendon reflexes?
1. Reflexes will be normal.
2. Reflexes will not be able to be elicited.
3. All reflexes would be diminished but present.
4. Some would be present depending on the area of injury.
1. Reflexes will be normal.
A reflex is a defense mechanism of the nervous system. It operates below the level of conscious
control and permits a quick reaction to potentially painful or damaging situations.
Question 6 During the history, a patient tells the nurse that it feels like the room is spinning
around me. The nurse would document this as:
1. vertigo.
2. syncope.
3. dizziness.
4. seizure activity.
1. vertigo.
True vertigo is rotational spinning caused by neurologic dysfunction or a problem in the
vestibular apparatus or the vestibular nuclei in the brainstem.
Nervous System Structure, Brain Function &
Reflexes, Health Assessment study guide
1. Briefly describe the functions of the musculoskeletal system.
Question 1 The two parts of the nervous system are the:
1. motor and sensory.
2. central and peripheral.
3. peripheral and autonomic.
4. hypothalamus and cerebral.
2. central and peripheral.
The nervous system can be divided into two parts central and peripheral. The central nervous
system includes the brain and spinal cord. The peripheral nervous system includes the 12 pairs
of cranial nerves, the 31 pairs of spinal nerves, and all their branches.
Question 2 Which of the following statements is accurate concerning areas of the brain?
1. The cerebellum is the center for speech and emotions.
2. The hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep.
3. The basal ganglia are responsible for controlling voluntary movements.
4. Motor pathways of the spinal cord and brainstem synapse in the thalamus.
2. The hypothalamus controls temperature and regulates sleep.
The hypothalamus is a vital area with many important functions: temperature controller, sleep
center, anterior and posterior pituitary gland regulator, and coordinator of autonomic nervous
system activity and emotional status.
Question 3 The area of the nervous system that is responsible for mediating reflexes is the:
1. medulla.
2. cerebellum.
3. spinal cord.
4. cerebral cortex.
3. spinal cord.
The spinal cord is the main highway for ascending and descending fiber tracts that connect the
brain to the spinal nerves, and it mediates reflexes.
, Question 4 Which of the following statements about the peripheral nervous system is correct?
1. The cranial nerves enter the brain through the spinal cord.
2. Efferent fibers carry sensory input to the central nervous system through the spinal cord.
3. The peripheral nerves are inside the central nervous system and carry impulses through their
motor fibers.
4. The peripheral nerves carry input to the central nervous system by afferent fibers and away
by efferent fibers.
4. The peripheral nerves carry input to the central nervous system by afferent fibers and away
by efferent fibers.
A nerve is a bundle of fibers outside the central nervous system. The peripheral nerves carry
input to the central nervous system by their sensory afferent fibers and deliver output from the
central nervous system by the efferent fibers.
Question 5 A 21-year-old patient has a head injury resulting from trauma and is unconscious.
There are no other injuries. During the assessment what would the nurse expect to find when
testing the patient s deep tendon reflexes?
1. Reflexes will be normal.
2. Reflexes will not be able to be elicited.
3. All reflexes would be diminished but present.
4. Some would be present depending on the area of injury.
1. Reflexes will be normal.
A reflex is a defense mechanism of the nervous system. It operates below the level of conscious
control and permits a quick reaction to potentially painful or damaging situations.
Question 6 During the history, a patient tells the nurse that it feels like the room is spinning
around me. The nurse would document this as:
1. vertigo.
2. syncope.
3. dizziness.
4. seizure activity.
1. vertigo.
True vertigo is rotational spinning caused by neurologic dysfunction or a problem in the
vestibular apparatus or the vestibular nuclei in the brainstem.
