Please Read the Clinical Scenario, and Then Answer the Question

question 32

Multiple Choice

Please read the clinical scenario, and then answer the question that follow to become familiar with the traditional NCLEX question format.
The mother of 6-year-old Mary has brought her daughter into the pediatrician’s office where you work, complaining Mary has had a sore throat for several days and a fever. She has had a fever up to 104F that seems worse at night, but seems to respond to treatment with acetaminophen. Mary has not been eating or drinking as much either because she says “it hurts to swallow.” She is ill-appearing, and does not seem interested in playing with the toys or reading the books that are in the examination room. The doctor noted a thick, white exudate coating on both of Mary’s tonsils, which also seem enlarged. The doctor ordered a throat culture swab, as well as a complete blood count with differentials.
-Why are Mary's tonsils swollen?

• A)Mary's tonsils were probably ruptured by her intense cough,and the swelling is part of the normal wound-healing process.
• B)Tonsils are made of lymphatic tissue,and they probably became swollen by filtering out bacteria and their toxic products.
• C)Mary's tonsils are probably swollen because she is dehydrated from not drinking water,so they are holding onto whatever fluid they can.
• D)Tonsils are very sensitive to stimulation,so they probably became swollen from Mary's constant picking.

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Definitions:

Sodium

A chemical element with symbol Na and atomic number 11, essential for human health, primarily found in the extracellular fluid.

Loop of Henle

A section of the nephron in the kidney essential for concentrating urine and conserving water, involving a counter-current exchange mechanism.

Ascending Limb

Part of the loop of Henle in the nephron that transports fluid from the renal medulla towards the renal cortex, involved in the concentration of urine.

Hydrogen Ions

Hydrogen ions, denoted H+, are positively charged atoms of hydrogen that have lost their only electron, playing a critical role in acid-base chemistry and pH balance in solutions.