NR507 Final Exam Actual Exam 2026/2027 | Comprehensive Advanced
Pathophysiology Review with Answers - Chamberlain | Complete Questions | Pass
Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Foundations: Cellular Adaptation, Injury & Genetics
Q1: A 45-year-old male bodybuilder presents with significant muscle mass increase due
to rigorous weightlifting. At the cellular level, this increase in muscle fiber size is an
example of which adaptive process?
A. Hyperplasia
B. Hypertrophy [CORRECT]
C. Atrophy
D. Metaplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Hypertrophy refers to an increase in the size of individual cells, which leads
to an increase in tissue mass; this is the primary mechanism for skeletal muscle growth
in response to increased workload, unlike hyperplasia, which is an increase in cell
number.
Q2: A patient with a history of heavy smoking for 30 years undergoes a bronchoscopy.
Biopsy of the bronchial epithelium reveals a change from ciliated columnar epithelium to
stratified squamous epithelium. This cellular adaptation is best described as:
A. Dysplasia
B. Metaplasia [CORRECT]
C. Anaplasia
D. Hyperplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Metaplasia is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with
another, often in response to chronic irritation or stress, such as the transformation of
ciliated epithelium to squamous epithelium in smokers.
Q3: A 70-year-old patient presents with confusion and dehydration. Blood work reveals
a serum sodium level of 125 mEq/L. The cells in the brain are likely experiencing which
type of cellular injury due to the shift in water?
A. Ischemic injury
B. Hydropic swelling [CORRECT]
C. Fatty change
D. Coagulative necrosis
Correct Answer: B
,Rationale: Hydropic swelling occurs when sodium-potassium pumps fail due to ATP
depletion or hypotonicity, causing sodium and water to rush into the cell; in the brain,
hyponatremia causes cells to swell (cytotoxic edema), leading to confusion.
Q4: Which of the following statements best differentiates apoptosis from necrosis?
A. Apoptosis is a pathological process that causes inflammation, while necrosis is a
programmed cell death.
B. Apoptosis is a controlled, energy-dependent process that eliminates unwanted cells
without inflammation, while necrosis is accidental cell death that triggers inflammation.
[CORRECT]
C. Necrosis involves cell shrinkage and fragmentation, while apoptosis involves cell
swelling and lysis.
D. Apoptosis affects large groups of cells, whereas necrosis only affects single cells.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Apoptosis is often described as "cell suicide"—it is neat, programmed, and
does not elicit an inflammatory response, whereas necrosis is messy cell lysis resulting
from injury that releases intracellular contents, causing inflammation.
Q5: A nurse practitioner is counseling a couple about genetic risks. The husband has an
autosomal dominant disorder (such as Huntington’s disease). If he is heterozygous (Hh)
and the wife is unaffected (hh), what is the probability of their child inheriting the
disorder?
A. 0%
B. 25%
C. 50% [CORRECT]
D. 100%
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: In autosomal dominant inheritance, only one copy of the mutated gene is
needed to express the disease; if one parent is heterozygous (Hh) and the other is
homozygous recessive (hh), there is a 50% chance the child will inherit the dominant
allele (Hh).
Q6: A 10-year-old child is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an autosomal recessive
disorder. Neither parent exhibits symptoms of the disease. What is the most likely
genotype of the parents?
A. Both parents are homozygous dominant.
B. Both parents are homozygous recessive.
C. Both parents are heterozygous carriers. [CORRECT]
D. One parent is homozygous dominant, the other is heterozygous.
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: For a child to have an autosomal recessive disorder, they must inherit two
recessive alleles (one from each parent); parents who are unaffected but carry the gene
are heterozygous (carriers).
Q7: A newborn is diagnosed with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21). This genetic alteration
is a result of:
A. Monosomy
B. Nondisjunction [CORRECT]
C. Translocation (only)
D. Deletion
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Down syndrome is most commonly caused by nondisjunction, which is the
failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate properly during
meiosis, resulting in an embryo with three copies of chromosome 21.
Q8: Which of the following cellular adaptations involves the disordered cellular growth
that is often considered a precursor to cancer?
A. Hyperplasia
B. Dysplasia [CORRECT]
C. Atrophy
D. Metaplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Dysplasia is characterized by deranged cell growth of a specific tissue,
resulting in cells that vary in size, shape, and appearance; it is often a reversible
precursor to cancer, unlike hyperplasia which is an increase in cell number but typically
organized.
Q9: A patient presents with chest pain and is diagnosed with a myocardial infarction.
The cardiologist explains that the heart muscle cells are dying because they are
deprived of oxygen. This type of injury is specifically classified as:
A. Hypoxic injury [CORRECT]
B. Chemical injury
C. Immunologic injury
D. Infectious injury
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, is the most common cause of cellular injury; in
an MI, blocked coronary arteries prevent oxygen delivery, leading to the death of
cardiomyocytes.
Pathophysiology Review with Answers - Chamberlain | Complete Questions | Pass
Guaranteed - A+ Graded
Foundations: Cellular Adaptation, Injury & Genetics
Q1: A 45-year-old male bodybuilder presents with significant muscle mass increase due
to rigorous weightlifting. At the cellular level, this increase in muscle fiber size is an
example of which adaptive process?
A. Hyperplasia
B. Hypertrophy [CORRECT]
C. Atrophy
D. Metaplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Hypertrophy refers to an increase in the size of individual cells, which leads
to an increase in tissue mass; this is the primary mechanism for skeletal muscle growth
in response to increased workload, unlike hyperplasia, which is an increase in cell
number.
Q2: A patient with a history of heavy smoking for 30 years undergoes a bronchoscopy.
Biopsy of the bronchial epithelium reveals a change from ciliated columnar epithelium to
stratified squamous epithelium. This cellular adaptation is best described as:
A. Dysplasia
B. Metaplasia [CORRECT]
C. Anaplasia
D. Hyperplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Metaplasia is the reversible replacement of one differentiated cell type with
another, often in response to chronic irritation or stress, such as the transformation of
ciliated epithelium to squamous epithelium in smokers.
Q3: A 70-year-old patient presents with confusion and dehydration. Blood work reveals
a serum sodium level of 125 mEq/L. The cells in the brain are likely experiencing which
type of cellular injury due to the shift in water?
A. Ischemic injury
B. Hydropic swelling [CORRECT]
C. Fatty change
D. Coagulative necrosis
Correct Answer: B
,Rationale: Hydropic swelling occurs when sodium-potassium pumps fail due to ATP
depletion or hypotonicity, causing sodium and water to rush into the cell; in the brain,
hyponatremia causes cells to swell (cytotoxic edema), leading to confusion.
Q4: Which of the following statements best differentiates apoptosis from necrosis?
A. Apoptosis is a pathological process that causes inflammation, while necrosis is a
programmed cell death.
B. Apoptosis is a controlled, energy-dependent process that eliminates unwanted cells
without inflammation, while necrosis is accidental cell death that triggers inflammation.
[CORRECT]
C. Necrosis involves cell shrinkage and fragmentation, while apoptosis involves cell
swelling and lysis.
D. Apoptosis affects large groups of cells, whereas necrosis only affects single cells.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Apoptosis is often described as "cell suicide"—it is neat, programmed, and
does not elicit an inflammatory response, whereas necrosis is messy cell lysis resulting
from injury that releases intracellular contents, causing inflammation.
Q5: A nurse practitioner is counseling a couple about genetic risks. The husband has an
autosomal dominant disorder (such as Huntington’s disease). If he is heterozygous (Hh)
and the wife is unaffected (hh), what is the probability of their child inheriting the
disorder?
A. 0%
B. 25%
C. 50% [CORRECT]
D. 100%
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: In autosomal dominant inheritance, only one copy of the mutated gene is
needed to express the disease; if one parent is heterozygous (Hh) and the other is
homozygous recessive (hh), there is a 50% chance the child will inherit the dominant
allele (Hh).
Q6: A 10-year-old child is diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, an autosomal recessive
disorder. Neither parent exhibits symptoms of the disease. What is the most likely
genotype of the parents?
A. Both parents are homozygous dominant.
B. Both parents are homozygous recessive.
C. Both parents are heterozygous carriers. [CORRECT]
D. One parent is homozygous dominant, the other is heterozygous.
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: For a child to have an autosomal recessive disorder, they must inherit two
recessive alleles (one from each parent); parents who are unaffected but carry the gene
are heterozygous (carriers).
Q7: A newborn is diagnosed with Down syndrome (Trisomy 21). This genetic alteration
is a result of:
A. Monosomy
B. Nondisjunction [CORRECT]
C. Translocation (only)
D. Deletion
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Down syndrome is most commonly caused by nondisjunction, which is the
failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate properly during
meiosis, resulting in an embryo with three copies of chromosome 21.
Q8: Which of the following cellular adaptations involves the disordered cellular growth
that is often considered a precursor to cancer?
A. Hyperplasia
B. Dysplasia [CORRECT]
C. Atrophy
D. Metaplasia
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Dysplasia is characterized by deranged cell growth of a specific tissue,
resulting in cells that vary in size, shape, and appearance; it is often a reversible
precursor to cancer, unlike hyperplasia which is an increase in cell number but typically
organized.
Q9: A patient presents with chest pain and is diagnosed with a myocardial infarction.
The cardiologist explains that the heart muscle cells are dying because they are
deprived of oxygen. This type of injury is specifically classified as:
A. Hypoxic injury [CORRECT]
B. Chemical injury
C. Immunologic injury
D. Infectious injury
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, is the most common cause of cellular injury; in
an MI, blocked coronary arteries prevent oxygen delivery, leading to the death of
cardiomyocytes.
