NR 305 Health Assessment - Week 4 HEENT and Lymphatics Study
Guide 2026 |Chamberlain College
1. When assessing a patient’s vision using the Snellen chart, the nurse records
the result as 20/40. What does the ‘40’ represent?
A. The distance in feet the patient is standing from the chart.
B. The percentage of vision the patient has lost in that eye.
C. The distance at which a person with normal vision could read that line.
D. The number of letters the patient missed on the line.
Answer: C
Rationale: In Snellen chart results, the numerator is the distance the patient is from the
chart (20 feet), and the denominator is the distance at which a person with normal vision
could read that specific line.
2. Which cranial nerves are responsible for the Extraocular Movements (EOMs)
of the eyes?
A. Cranial Nerves II, III, and IV
B. Cranial Nerves III, IV, and VI
C. Cranial Nerves V, VII, and IX
D. Cranial Nerves II, V, and VII
Answer: B
Rationale: Cranial Nerves III (Oculomotor), IV (Trochlear), and VI (Abducens) control the
muscles that move the eye.
,3. A nurse is performing a pupillary light reflex test. When light is shone into the
right eye, the left pupil also constricts. This is known as:
A. Direct reflex
B. Accommodation
C. Consensual reflex
D. Convergence
Answer: C
Rationale: Consensual light reflex is the simultaneous constriction of the pupil in the
opposite eye when light is shone into the other eye.
4. While assessing the ears of an adult patient with an otoscope, the nurse
should pull the pinna:
A. Down and back
B. Up and back
C. Straight back
D. Up and forward
Answer: B
Rationale: For an adult, the pinna is pulled up and back to straighten the external auditory
canal. For a child under 3, it is pulled down and back.
5. Which finding is considered normal when inspecting the tympanic
membrane?
A. Yellow or amber color with air bubbles
B. Bright red and bulging
C. Pearly gray, translucent, and flat
D. White patches or scarring
Answer: C
Rationale: A normal tympanic membrane should be pearly gray, translucent, and slightly
concave (flat), with a visible cone of light.
, 6. During a Weber test, a patient reports hearing the sound louder in their right
ear. This lateralization suggests:
A. A normal finding
B. Conductive hearing loss in the right ear or sensorineural loss in the left
C. Sensorineural hearing loss in both ears
D. Conductive hearing loss in the left ear
Answer: B
Rationale: In the Weber test, sound lateralizes to the ‘bad’ ear in conductive loss and to the
‘good’ ear in sensorineural loss.
7. A nurse is assessing the thyroid gland. Which of the following is the correct
technique?
A. Ask the patient to cough while palpating the thyroid
B. Use deep pressure to feel the lobes against the sternocleidomastoid
C. Auscultate for a bruit before palpating for size
D. Ask the patient to take a sip of water and swallow while palpating
Answer: D
Rationale: Swallowing causes the thyroid gland and cartilage to move upward, making it
easier to palpate.
8. Which lymph nodes are located in front of the ear?
A. Postauricular
B. Occipital
C. Submandibular
D. Preauricular
Answer: D
Rationale: The preauricular lymph nodes are located in front of the tragus of the ear.
Guide 2026 |Chamberlain College
1. When assessing a patient’s vision using the Snellen chart, the nurse records
the result as 20/40. What does the ‘40’ represent?
A. The distance in feet the patient is standing from the chart.
B. The percentage of vision the patient has lost in that eye.
C. The distance at which a person with normal vision could read that line.
D. The number of letters the patient missed on the line.
Answer: C
Rationale: In Snellen chart results, the numerator is the distance the patient is from the
chart (20 feet), and the denominator is the distance at which a person with normal vision
could read that specific line.
2. Which cranial nerves are responsible for the Extraocular Movements (EOMs)
of the eyes?
A. Cranial Nerves II, III, and IV
B. Cranial Nerves III, IV, and VI
C. Cranial Nerves V, VII, and IX
D. Cranial Nerves II, V, and VII
Answer: B
Rationale: Cranial Nerves III (Oculomotor), IV (Trochlear), and VI (Abducens) control the
muscles that move the eye.
,3. A nurse is performing a pupillary light reflex test. When light is shone into the
right eye, the left pupil also constricts. This is known as:
A. Direct reflex
B. Accommodation
C. Consensual reflex
D. Convergence
Answer: C
Rationale: Consensual light reflex is the simultaneous constriction of the pupil in the
opposite eye when light is shone into the other eye.
4. While assessing the ears of an adult patient with an otoscope, the nurse
should pull the pinna:
A. Down and back
B. Up and back
C. Straight back
D. Up and forward
Answer: B
Rationale: For an adult, the pinna is pulled up and back to straighten the external auditory
canal. For a child under 3, it is pulled down and back.
5. Which finding is considered normal when inspecting the tympanic
membrane?
A. Yellow or amber color with air bubbles
B. Bright red and bulging
C. Pearly gray, translucent, and flat
D. White patches or scarring
Answer: C
Rationale: A normal tympanic membrane should be pearly gray, translucent, and slightly
concave (flat), with a visible cone of light.
, 6. During a Weber test, a patient reports hearing the sound louder in their right
ear. This lateralization suggests:
A. A normal finding
B. Conductive hearing loss in the right ear or sensorineural loss in the left
C. Sensorineural hearing loss in both ears
D. Conductive hearing loss in the left ear
Answer: B
Rationale: In the Weber test, sound lateralizes to the ‘bad’ ear in conductive loss and to the
‘good’ ear in sensorineural loss.
7. A nurse is assessing the thyroid gland. Which of the following is the correct
technique?
A. Ask the patient to cough while palpating the thyroid
B. Use deep pressure to feel the lobes against the sternocleidomastoid
C. Auscultate for a bruit before palpating for size
D. Ask the patient to take a sip of water and swallow while palpating
Answer: D
Rationale: Swallowing causes the thyroid gland and cartilage to move upward, making it
easier to palpate.
8. Which lymph nodes are located in front of the ear?
A. Postauricular
B. Occipital
C. Submandibular
D. Preauricular
Answer: D
Rationale: The preauricular lymph nodes are located in front of the tragus of the ear.
