New nursing MCQ Exam Question from 141 to 148.

Rationale: Hirschsprung’s disease is a congenital condition in which there is an absence of parasympathetic ganglionic nerve cells (Auerbach’s and Meissner’s plexus) in the colon and rectum.

Because these nerve cells are missing, the affected segment of the bowel cannot relax properly. This leads to functional intestinal obstruction, causing symptoms such as delayed passage of meconium, abdominal distension, and severe constipation.

This disorder is usually diagnosed in newborns or early childhood and is an important condition for nurses to recognize early, as untreated cases can lead to serious complications like enterocolitis.

Therefore, the correct answer is Hirschsprung’s disease.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder in which the upper airway becomes partially or completely blocked during sleep.

The classical and most common sign of obstructive sleep apnea is loud, chronic snoring, caused by vibration of soft tissues when airflow is obstructed.

Although patients may also experience daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia), fatigue, and poor sleep quality, these are secondary symptoms and not the hallmark sign.

Narcolepsy is a separate neurological disorder, and sleep deprivation is a consequence, not a defining feature of OSA.

Therefore, the correct answer is Snoring.

Rationale: During pregnancy, a woman’s body requires extra iron to meet the increased demands of maternal blood volume, fetal growth, and placental development.

Approximately 1200 mg of iron is needed throughout pregnancy. This iron is utilized for expansion of red blood cell mass, fetal iron stores, and to compensate for blood loss during delivery.

If adequate iron is not supplied, the mother is at higher risk of iron deficiency anemia, which can lead to fatigue, poor fetal growth, and increased maternal morbidity.

This is why routine iron and folic acid supplementation is recommended during pregnancy as part of antenatal care.

Therefore, the correct answer is 1200 mg.

Rationale: Complementary feeding refers to the introduction of solid or semi-solid foods along with continued breastfeeding.

According to WHO and UNICEF guidelines, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of life. After this period, breast milk alone is no longer sufficient to meet the infant’s increasing nutritional needs.

At the completion of 6 months, the infant’s digestive system is mature enough to handle complementary foods, and timely initiation helps prevent malnutrition, growth failure, and micronutrient deficiencies.

Breastfeeding should still be continued up to 2 years of age or beyond, along with appropriate complementary feeding.

Therefore, the correct answer is 6 months.

Rationale: Pick’s disease is a type of frontotemporal dementia characterized by asymmetric atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.

This selective degeneration leads to early changes in personality, behavior, and language, rather than memory loss in the initial stages.

Imaging studies typically show marked shrinkage of the frontal and temporal regions, which explains the clinical features such as disinhibition, emotional blunting, and impaired judgment.

Other conditions like vascular dementia, Huntington disease, and Jakob disease have different pathological patterns and do not show this classic asymmetric frontotemporal atrophy.

Therefore, the correct answer is Pick’s disease.

Rationale: Sound waves enter the ear through the external auditory canal and strike the tympanic membrane, commonly known as the eardrum.

The tympanic membrane vibrates in response to sound waves and plays a key role in transmitting these vibrations to the middle ear ossicles, which then relay them further into the internal ear.

The auricle helps in collecting sound, the Eustachian tube maintains pressure equilibrium, and the vestibule is involved in balance rather than hearing.

Therefore, the part responsible for transmission of sound vibrations to the internal ear is the tympanic membrane.

Rationale: The pituitary gland is known as the master gland of the body because it controls and regulates the activity of most other endocrine glands.

It secretes several important hormones such as growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and gonadotropins, which influence the thyroid, adrenal, and reproductive glands.

The pituitary gland functions under the influence of the hypothalamus and plays a vital role in growth, metabolism, reproduction, and stress response.

Although other glands like the thyroid, adrenal, and parathyroid have important roles, they are regulated by pituitary hormones.

Therefore, the correct answer is Pituitary gland.

Rationale: A cardiac cycle refers to the complete sequence of events that occur during one heartbeat, including atrial systole, ventricular systole, and diastole.

In a normal adult with a resting heart rate of about 75 beats per minute, each cardiac cycle lasts approximately 0.8 seconds.

This time allows adequate filling of the heart chambers during diastole and effective pumping of blood during systole.

Understanding the duration of the cardiac cycle is important for nurses when interpreting heart sounds, ECGs, and assessing cardiac function.

Therefore, the correct answer is 0.8 seconds.