NR603 Week 3 Quiz
Pulmonary (Respiratory)
2026/2027 | Newly Released | Complete Guide
50 Verified Questions and Answers with Rationales
Section One: Respiratory Assessment & Diagnostics (15 questions)
Q1: You are auscultating the lungs of a 45-year-old patient with complaints of shortness of
breath. You hear low-pitched, rumbling sounds that resemble snoring and are mostly clear with a
cough. How would you document these breath sounds?
A. Vesicular
B. High-pitched wheezes
C. Sonorous wheezes (rhonchi) [CORRECT]
D. Fine crackles
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is sonorous wheezes (rhonchi) because the description of low-
pitched, snoring-like sounds that often clear with coughing is the classic presentation of
secretions moving in the larger airways.
,Q2: A 65-year-old male presents for a routine physical. His AP chest diameter appears increased,
and he has a barrel chest. He reports a chronic productive cough. What is the most likely
explanation for these findings based on the anatomy of his chest wall?
A. Increased residual volume due to air trapping [CORRECT]
B. Muscle hypertrophy from heavy lifting
C. Normal aging process
D. Pneumothorax
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: This choice is correct because the barrel chest deformity and increased AP diameter
are caused by hyperinflation of the lungs and air trapping, which leads to an increased residual
volume commonly seen in COPD.
Q3: You are percussing the chest of a patient who presents with fever and pleuritic chest pain.
Over the left lower lobe, you note a dull, thud-like sound. What does this percussion finding
most likely indicate?
A. Pneumothorax
B. Hyperinflation
C. Consolidation or pleural effusion [CORRECT]
D. Normal aerated lung
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is consolidation or effusion because dullness to percussion replaces
the normal resonance, suggesting that the air-filled lung tissue has been replaced by fluid, pus, or
solid tissue, as seen in pneumonia or effusion.
, Q4: A patient with known COPD comes to the clinic for a check-up. You want to objectively
assess her airflow limitation and the degree of reversibility. Which diagnostic test is the gold
standard for this purpose?
A. Peak Flow Meter
B. Pulse Oximetry
C. Spirometry with pre- and post-bronchodilator [CORRECT]
D. Chest X-ray
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: This choice is correct because spirometry is the gold standard for diagnosing and
assessing the severity of obstructive lung diseases, and performing it before and after a
bronchodilator helps distinguish between asthma (reversible) and COPD (less reversible).
Q5: During a pulmonary exam, you feel a coarse, vibrating sensation when your hand is placed
on the patient's chest wall while they are speaking. This tactile fremitus is increased. What
condition does this suggest?
A. Pneumothorax
B. Lobar pneumonia [CORRECT]
C. Emphysema
D. Severe asthma
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is lobar pneumonia because increased tactile fremitus occurs when
sound transmission is improved through solid or consolidated lung tissue, which is a hallmark of
bacterial pneumonia.
Pulmonary (Respiratory)
2026/2027 | Newly Released | Complete Guide
50 Verified Questions and Answers with Rationales
Section One: Respiratory Assessment & Diagnostics (15 questions)
Q1: You are auscultating the lungs of a 45-year-old patient with complaints of shortness of
breath. You hear low-pitched, rumbling sounds that resemble snoring and are mostly clear with a
cough. How would you document these breath sounds?
A. Vesicular
B. High-pitched wheezes
C. Sonorous wheezes (rhonchi) [CORRECT]
D. Fine crackles
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is sonorous wheezes (rhonchi) because the description of low-
pitched, snoring-like sounds that often clear with coughing is the classic presentation of
secretions moving in the larger airways.
,Q2: A 65-year-old male presents for a routine physical. His AP chest diameter appears increased,
and he has a barrel chest. He reports a chronic productive cough. What is the most likely
explanation for these findings based on the anatomy of his chest wall?
A. Increased residual volume due to air trapping [CORRECT]
B. Muscle hypertrophy from heavy lifting
C. Normal aging process
D. Pneumothorax
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: This choice is correct because the barrel chest deformity and increased AP diameter
are caused by hyperinflation of the lungs and air trapping, which leads to an increased residual
volume commonly seen in COPD.
Q3: You are percussing the chest of a patient who presents with fever and pleuritic chest pain.
Over the left lower lobe, you note a dull, thud-like sound. What does this percussion finding
most likely indicate?
A. Pneumothorax
B. Hyperinflation
C. Consolidation or pleural effusion [CORRECT]
D. Normal aerated lung
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The best answer is consolidation or effusion because dullness to percussion replaces
the normal resonance, suggesting that the air-filled lung tissue has been replaced by fluid, pus, or
solid tissue, as seen in pneumonia or effusion.
, Q4: A patient with known COPD comes to the clinic for a check-up. You want to objectively
assess her airflow limitation and the degree of reversibility. Which diagnostic test is the gold
standard for this purpose?
A. Peak Flow Meter
B. Pulse Oximetry
C. Spirometry with pre- and post-bronchodilator [CORRECT]
D. Chest X-ray
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: This choice is correct because spirometry is the gold standard for diagnosing and
assessing the severity of obstructive lung diseases, and performing it before and after a
bronchodilator helps distinguish between asthma (reversible) and COPD (less reversible).
Q5: During a pulmonary exam, you feel a coarse, vibrating sensation when your hand is placed
on the patient's chest wall while they are speaking. This tactile fremitus is increased. What
condition does this suggest?
A. Pneumothorax
B. Lobar pneumonia [CORRECT]
C. Emphysema
D. Severe asthma
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The best answer is lobar pneumonia because increased tactile fremitus occurs when
sound transmission is improved through solid or consolidated lung tissue, which is a hallmark of
bacterial pneumonia.
