While obtaining a health history of a 3-month-old infant from the mother, the nurse asks about the infant’s ability to suck and grasp the mother’s finger. What is the nurse assessing?
Intelligence
Cerebral cortex function
Reflexes
Cranial nerves
The Correct Answer is C
Choice A reason: Intelligence cannot be assessed in a 3-month-old, as cognitive abilities are not yet developed enough for evaluation. Sucking and grasping are innate behaviors driven by reflexes, not conscious thought, making this an incorrect assessment focus.
Choice B reason: Cerebral cortex function is immature in a 3-month-old, and sucking and grasping are primarily brainstem-mediated reflexes. These actions do not directly assess higher cortical functions like memory or reasoning, making this an incorrect choice.
Choice C reason: Sucking and grasping in a 3-month-old are primitive reflexes (sucking reflex and palmar grasp reflex), mediated by the brainstem. Assessing these evaluates normal neurological development, making this the correct focus of the nurse’s inquiry.
Choice D reason: While sucking involves Cranial Nerves V, VII, IX, and XII, and grasping involves spinal reflexes, the nurse is assessing the presence of these reflexes, not the cranial nerves directly. Reflex assessment is the primary focus, making this less precise.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: A social group sharing traits like location or language describes ethnicity or community, not race. Race is primarily based on physical characteristics, not geographic or linguistic ties, making this an incorrect definition.
Choice B reason: The process of acquiring norms and beliefs refers to socialization or culture, not race. Race is defined by physical traits, not learned behaviors or cultural practices, making this an incorrect description.
Choice C reason: Shared attitudes, values, and roles define culture or ethnicity, not race. Race focuses on inherited physical characteristics, like skin color or facial features, not behavioral or social patterns, making this incorrect.
Choice D reason: Race is defined as a group sharing similar physical characteristics, such as skin color, facial features, or other genetic traits. This aligns with biological and anthropological definitions, making it the correct description of race.
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: The submandibular glands are palpable below the mandible, but occipital glands do not exist as salivary glands. The occipital region relates to lymph nodes or muscles, not salivary structures, making this an incorrect pair for palpation.
Choice B reason: The parotid glands are palpable near the ears, but jugulodigastric refers to lymph nodes, not salivary glands. This misidentification of anatomical structures makes this pair incorrect for assessing salivary gland palpation.
Choice C reason: Occipital and submental regions do not contain salivary glands. Submental lymph nodes exist, but neither these nor occipital structures are salivary glands, making this pair anatomically incorrect for the nurse’s palpation assessment.
Choice D reason: The parotid glands, located anterior to the ears, and submandibular glands, below the mandible, are the two pairs of salivary glands accessible for palpation. Their anatomical positions allow external assessment, making this the correct choice.
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