The cheese-like, whitish substance that fuses with the epidermis and serves as a protective coating is called:
Vernix caseosa
Surfactant
Caput succedaneum
Acrocyanosis
The Correct Answer is A
Vernix caseosa is a cheese-like, whitish substance that fuses with the epidermis and serves as a protective coating for the newborn.

Some possible explanations for the other choices are:
- Choice B. Surfactant is a protein that lines the alveoli of the infant’s lungs and helps prevent them from collapsing.
- Choice C. Caput succedaneum is a swelling of the tissue over the presenting part of the fetal head caused by pressure during delivery.
- Choice D. Acrocyanosis is a bluish discoloration of the hands and feet due to reduced peripheral circulation.
Normal ranges for vernix caseosa are not applicable as it varies depending on the gestational age and skin maturity of the newborn. However, it is usually more abundant in preterm infants than in term or post-term infants.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is ["A","C","D","E","F"]
Explanation
A health history is a holistic assessment of all factors affecting a patient’s health status, including information about social, cultural, familial, and economic aspects of the patient’s life as well as any other component of the patient’s life style that affects health and well-being.
Choice B is wrong because physical assessment is not part of the health history, but a separate process of examining the patient’s body systems.
Choice A is correct because review of systems is a systematic method of collecting data on all body systems.
Choice C is correct because sexual history is an important aspect of the patient’s health that may affect their risk for sexually transmitted infections, reproductive health, and psychosocial well-being.
Choice D is correct because height, weight, BMI data are part of the biographical data that provide a baseline for comparing the patient’s characteristics to established norms for physical and emotional health.
Choice E is correct because diet and nutritional intake are relevant factors that influence the patient’s health status and may indicate potential problems such as malnutrition, obesity, or eating disorders.
Choice F is correct because family medical history provides information about the patient’s genetic risk for certain diseases and conditions that may affect their current or future health.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Bacteria that synthesize vitamin K is not present in the newborn’s intestinal tract. Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting, and newborns are at risk of bleeding problems due to their lack of vitamin K. Therefore, vitamin K is given by injection to prevent hemorrhagic disease in the newborn.

Choice A is wrong because most mothers do not have a diet deficient in vitamin K, and vitamin K deficiency in newborns is not related to the maternal diet.
Choice B is wrong because vitamin K does not prevent the synthesis of prothrombin in the liver, but rather enhances it. Prothrombin is a clotting factor that requires vitamin K for its production.
Choice D is wrong because the supply of vitamin K is not inadequate for at least 3 to 4 months, but rather for a few days until the newborn’s intestinal bacteria start producing it.
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