A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a newly licensed nurse about physiological changes in the digestive system that occur with aging. The nurse should include that older adults might experience which of the following physiological changes?
Decreased intestinal peristalsis
Decreased pH of the stomach
Increased muscle tone of the bowel
Increased gastric acid production
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: With aging, there is a slight slowing in the movement of contents through the large intestine and a modest decrease in the contractions of the rectum when filled with stool, leading to decreased intestinal peristalsis.
Choice B reason: Aging does not typically result in a decreased pH of the stomach. Instead, conditions that decrease acid secretion, such as atrophic gastritis, become more common with age.
Choice C reason: Increased muscle tone of the bowel is not a change associated with aging. In fact, muscle tone may decrease, contributing to issues such as constipation.
Choice D reason: Increased gastric acid production is not a typical physiological change with aging. The secretion of stomach juices such as acid and pepsin has little effect on aging, although conditions that decrease acid secretion become more common.
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Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: The small intestine is not the starting point of the digestive process. It is where most of the digestion and absorption of nutrients occurs after the food has been processed in the stomach.
Choice B reason: The rectum is the final section of the large intestine, where feces are stored before being expelled. It is not involved in the initial stages of digestion.
Choice C reason: The stomach is involved in the early stages of digestion, particularly in the breakdown of proteins, but it is not the starting point. Food enters the stomach after being ingested through the mouth.
Choice D reason: The mouth is the correct starting location for the digestive process. Here, ingestion takes place, and mechanical digestion begins with chewing, while chemical digestion starts with enzymes in the saliva breaking down carbohydrates.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
Choice A reason: Magnesium is important for many processes in the body, including nerve transmission and the regulation of muscle contractions, but it is not primarily used for oxygen transport.
Choice B reason: Iron is a key component of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. The normal range for iron in the blood is typically 50 to 170 micrograms per deciliter for men and 65 to 165 micrograms per deciliter for women.
Choice C reason: Potassium is crucial for heart function and plays a key role in skeletal and smooth muscle contraction, making it important for normal digestive and muscular function, but not directly for oxygen transport.
Choice D reason: Phosphorus helps form bones and teeth and is involved in the body's utilization of carbohydrates and fats, as well as the synthesis of protein for the growth, maintenance, and repair of cells and tissues, but it does not transport oxygen.
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