The nurse is assessing cranial nerve 5 (the trigeminal nerve) in a newly admitted client. What instruction should the nurse provide to the client during this phase of the assessment?
"Clench your teeth together tightly."
"Open your mouth wide and say 'ah.'"
"Look at me while I shine this light in your eye."
"Close your left eye and look at me with your right eye."
The Correct Answer is A
Choice A reason: Clenching teeth tests cranial nerve V’s motor branch, innervating mastication muscles like the masseter. This assesses strength and symmetry, directly evaluating trigeminal function, making it the precise instruction for this nerve’s motor assessment accurately here.
Choice B reason: Opening the mouth and saying “ah” tests cranial nerves IX and X, not V. This assesses gag reflex and palate movement, missing the trigeminal’s role in jaw strength, rendering it irrelevant to this specific nerve exam fully.
Choice C reason: Shining light in the eye tests cranial nerves II and III, not V. This checks pupil response, unrelated to trigeminal sensory or motor functions, excluding it from the assessment of jaw and facial sensation entirely here.
Choice D reason: Closing one eye and looking tests cranial nerves III, IV, and VI, not V. This evaluates eye movement, not trigeminal innervation of facial muscles or sensation, disconnecting it from the intended cranial nerve assessment fully here.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
Choice A reason: Slow venous return causes edema, not deep, painful wounds. This venous issue lacks the arterial insufficiency link to tissue necrosis, misaligning with the circular ulcer’s ischemic profile, which requires oxygen delivery, not just drainage, here fully.
Choice B reason: Osmotic pressure disruption affects fluid balance, not localized wounds. This systemic issue doesn’t explain a toe ulcer’s depth and pain, missing the vascular supply deficit driving tissue breakdown in this specific extremity finding entirely and clearly.
Choice C reason: Lymphatic blockage or infection causes swelling or lymphangitis, not deep, circular wounds. This lacks the ischemic etiology of toe ulcers, which stem from arterial insufficiency, not lymphatic dysfunction, distinguishing it from the observed pathology here fully.
Choice D reason: Inadequate arterial blood supply, as in peripheral artery disease, causes deep, painful toe ulcers due to tissue ischemia. Poor oxygen delivery leads to necrosis, matching the wound’s characteristics, making this the most likely etiology accurately and precisely.
Correct Answer is C
Explanation
Choice A reason: Ischemic stroke causes focal deficits like weakness, not neck flexion-induced leg pain. This vascular event lacks meningeal irritation signs, misaligning with the positive Brudzinski’s sign of knee bending and neck pain in this assessment fully here.
Choice B reason: Trigeminal neuralgia triggers facial pain, not leg or neck pain with flexion. This cranial nerve V issue doesn’t involve meningeal inflammation, excluding it from the systemic response seen in this neck maneuver entirely and accurately here.
Choice C reason: Meningitis causes meningeal irritation; neck flexion (Brudzinski’s sign) elicits leg pain and knee bending. Neck pain aligns with inflammation, making this the likely diagnosis for the client’s response to this specific neurological test comprehensively here.
Choice D reason: Bell’s palsy affects cranial nerve VII, causing facial paralysis, not leg or neck pain. This peripheral nerve issue lacks the meningeal signs triggered by neck flexion, ruling it out as the cause in this scenario fully here.
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