1. In a jaw fracture, immobilisation is achieved by gently closing the mouth and applying
- A. A bandage around the jaw and head
- B. A tourniquet around the neck
- C. A splint inside the mouth
- D. A plaster cast
Answer: A — A bandage around the jaw and head
The casualty's jaw is supported with a soft pad and a bandage passing under the jaw and over the head, keeping teeth together. If the casualty is likely to vomit or is unconscious, the airway takes priority over tight bandaging.
2. For which fracture is a triangular arm sling applied?
- A. Collar bone or shoulder blade
- B. Thigh bone
- C. Ankle
- D. Skull
Answer: A — Collar bone or shoulder blade
A fractured collar bone or shoulder blade is supported with the arm in a triangular sling, which takes the weight of the arm off the injured area. Lower limb and skull fractures need different immobilisation.
3. Which type of fracture may cause permanent paralysis if the patient is moved?
- A. Spine fracture
- B. Wrist fracture
- C. Rib fracture
- D. Finger fracture
Answer: A — Spine fracture
Movement of a fractured spine can damage the spinal cord and cause permanent paralysis below the injury. Suspected spinal casualties are kept still with head and neck supported, and moved only on a rigid stretcher with several helpers.
4. The outermost layer of the skin is called the
- A. Epidermis
- B. Dermis (corium)
- C. Subcutaneous layer
- D. Hypodermis
Answer: A — Epidermis
Skin has an outer epidermis and an inner dermis, also called the corium, lying over subcutaneous tissue. The epidermis forms the protective outer surface and is continuously renewed from its deeper layers.
5. Which layer of the skin does not contain any blood vessels?
- A. Epidermis
- B. Dermis
- C. Subcutaneous tissue
- D. Hypodermis
Answer: A — Epidermis
The epidermis is avascular; it receives nourishment by diffusion from capillaries in the underlying dermis. This is why a superficial graze of the epidermis alone does not bleed, while deeper cuts into the dermis do.
6. Which is the top, or uppermost, layer of the epidermis?
- A. Stratum corneum
- B. Stratum basale
- C. Stratum spinosum
- D. Dermis
Answer: A — Stratum corneum
The stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the epidermis, made of flattened dead keratinised cells that form a tough waterproof barrier and are constantly shed and replaced from below.
7. The system of the body that coordinates and controls its activities is known as the ____.
- A. Nervous system
- B. Digestive system
- C. Skeletal system
- D. Urinary system
Answer: A — Nervous system
The nervous system, comprising the brain, spinal cord and nerves, receives information from the senses, processes it and sends signals that coordinate and control all body activities, assisted by the endocrine system.
8. The nervous system is a complex collection of nerves and specialised cells known as
- A. Neurons
- B. Erythrocytes
- C. Platelets
- D. Osteocytes
Answer: A — Neurons
Neurons are the specialised nerve cells that transmit electrical and chemical signals between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body. Erythrocytes are red blood cells, platelets aid clotting and osteocytes are bone cells.
9. Sensory nerves send messages to the brain about what we
- A. See, hear, smell, taste and touch
- B. Decide to do with our muscles
- C. Digest in the stomach
- D. Store as fat
Answer: A — See, hear, smell, taste and touch
Sensory nerves carry impulses from the sense organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin - to the brain. Motor nerves carry instructions in the opposite direction, from the brain to the muscles.
10. The urinary system is also known as the
- A. Renal (excretory) system
- B. Endocrine system
- C. Lymphatic system
- D. Integumentary system
Answer: A — Renal (excretory) system
The urinary or renal system - kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra - filters wastes from the blood and excretes them as urine. The endocrine system is the separate network of hormone-producing glands.
11. Which structure is last in the sequence of urine flow?
- A. Urethra
- B. Ureter
- C. Kidney
- D. Bladder
Answer: A — Urethra
Urine is formed in the kidneys, carried by the ureters to the bladder for storage, and finally discharged out of the body through the urethra.
12. What is the digestive system?
- A. The body's food-processing system
- B. The body's blood-transporting system
- C. The body's control system
- D. The body's support framework
Answer: A — The body's food-processing system
The digestive system, from mouth through stomach and intestines, breaks food down into nutrients that can be absorbed into the blood, and eliminates the undigested waste.
13. Through which passage does food pass between the mouth and the stomach?
- A. The gullet (oesophagus)
- B. The windpipe (trachea)
- C. The small intestine
- D. The bile duct
Answer: A — The gullet (oesophagus)
After swallowing, food passes from the pharynx down the gullet or oesophagus, a muscular tube that moves it to the stomach by waves of contraction called peristalsis. The trachea carries air to the lungs.
14. Your body couldn't breathe without this system. Which one is it?
- A. The respiratory system
- B. The digestive system
- C. The urinary system
- D. The skeletal system
Answer: A — The respiratory system
The respiratory system - nose, airways and lungs - takes in oxygen and removes carbon dioxide. Breathing failure quickly leads to cardiac arrest, which is why airway and breathing are priorities in first aid.
15. When you breathe in air, you bring oxygen into your lungs and breathe out ____.
- A. Carbon dioxide
- B. Nitrogen only
- C. Carbon monoxide
- D. Hydrogen
Answer: A — Carbon dioxide
In the lungs, oxygen passes from the alveoli into the blood while carbon dioxide, a waste product of body metabolism, passes from the blood into the alveoli and is exhaled.
16. What is the name of the tiny air sacs in the lungs?
- A. Alveoli
- B. Bronchi
- C. Capillaries
- D. Villi
Answer: A — Alveoli
Alveoli are millions of microscopic air sacs at the ends of the bronchioles, surrounded by capillaries, where gas exchange takes place. Villi are found in the small intestine.
17. Which type of blood vessel carries blood away from the heart?
- A. Arteries
- B. Veins
- C. Venules
- D. Lymph vessels
Answer: A — Arteries
Arteries carry blood away from the heart under pressure, which is why arterial bleeding is bright red and spurts. Veins return blood to the heart, and capillaries link the two.
18. How many chambers does the human heart have?
Answer: A — 4
The heart has four chambers: two upper atria that receive blood and two lower ventricles that pump it out, the right side to the lungs and the left side to the rest of the body.
19. What is the circulatory system?
- A. The body's blood-transporting system
- B. The body's food-processing system
- C. The body's breathing system
- D. The body's hormone system
Answer: A — The body's blood-transporting system
The circulatory system consists of the heart, blood vessels and blood. It transports oxygen, nutrients and hormones to the tissues and carries away carbon dioxide and wastes.
20. The muscles of the heart are called ____ muscles.
- A. Cardiac
- B. Skeletal
- C. Smooth
- D. Voluntary
Answer: A — Cardiac
Cardiac muscle is found only in the heart wall. It contracts rhythmically and continuously without conscious control and does not tire like skeletal muscle.
21. What type of muscles do you not consciously control?
- A. Involuntary muscles
- B. Voluntary muscles
- C. Skeletal muscles
- D. Limb muscles
Answer: A — Involuntary muscles
Involuntary muscles, such as smooth muscle in the gut and blood vessels and cardiac muscle in the heart, work automatically. Voluntary or skeletal muscles move the limbs under conscious control.
22. Which of these is NOT one of the three types of muscle tissue?
- A. Flexible muscle
- B. Skeletal muscle
- C. Smooth muscle
- D. Cardiac muscle
Answer: A — Flexible muscle
The three types of muscle tissue are skeletal (voluntary), smooth (involuntary, found in internal organs) and cardiac (heart). There is no muscle tissue type called flexible muscle.
23. The muscles at the front of your upper arm are called your ____.
- A. Biceps
- B. Quadriceps
- C. Hamstrings
- D. Calf muscles
Answer: A — Biceps
The biceps lies at the front of the upper arm and bends the elbow, with the triceps behind it straightening the elbow. The quadriceps and hamstrings are in the thigh and the calf muscles in the lower leg.
24. How many bones are there in the average adult human body?
- A. 206
- B. 106
- C. 306
- D. 156
Answer: A — 206
The adult skeleton has 206 bones, divided into the axial skeleton (skull, spine, ribs and sternum) and the appendicular skeleton (limbs with the shoulder and pelvic girdles). A newborn has more, which fuse with growth.
25. What does the axial skeleton consist of?
- A. Skull, vertebral column, ribs and sternum
- B. Arms and legs
- C. Shoulder and pelvic girdles
- D. Hands and feet
Answer: A — Skull, vertebral column, ribs and sternum
The axial skeleton forms the central axis of the body: the skull, the vertebral column, the ribs and the sternum. The limbs together with the shoulder and pelvic girdles form the appendicular skeleton.
26. How many bones does the axial skeleton have?
- A. 80
- B. 72
- C. 126
- D. 206
Answer: A — 80
Of the 206 bones in the adult body, 80 belong to the axial skeleton (skull, hyoid, ear ossicles, vertebral column, ribs and sternum) and 126 to the appendicular skeleton.
27. Injuries to the ribs are often the result of falling against
- A. A hard or sharp-angled edge
- B. A soft mattress
- C. The surface of water
- D. A grass lawn
Answer: A — A hard or sharp-angled edge
Rib fractures commonly result from a direct blow, such as falling against the edge of a hatch coaming, table or step, or from crushing. Broken ribs may puncture the lung, so watch for breathing difficulty.
28. If the lung is damaged, this may be seen by the
- A. Casualty coughing up bright red, frothy blood
- B. Casualty vomiting dark brown material
- C. Casualty passing dark urine
- D. Casualty having yellow skin
Answer: A — Casualty coughing up bright red, frothy blood
Bright red frothy blood coughed up indicates bleeding from the lungs, often after a chest injury with broken ribs. Vomited dark 'coffee-ground' material instead suggests bleeding in the stomach.
29. If there is an open (sucking) wound of the chest, it must be sealed immediately; otherwise
- A. Air is drawn into the chest cavity and the lung cannot inflate
- B. The casualty will develop a fever
- C. The ribs will dislocate
- D. The heart will stop immediately
Answer: A — Air is drawn into the chest cavity and the lung cannot inflate
With a sucking chest wound, air enters the pleural cavity on breathing in, causing the lung on that side to collapse. Covering the wound promptly with an airtight dressing helps the casualty breathe.
30. A suitable dressing for a sucking chest wound can be made from
- A. Petroleum jelly on gauze, giving an airtight seal
- B. Dry cotton wool
- C. A loose woollen cloth
- D. A wet paper towel
Answer: A — Petroleum jelly on gauze, giving an airtight seal
An airtight covering such as petroleum jelly gauze or plastic film over a pad seals the wound and stops air being sucked into the chest. Cotton wool and loose cloth let air pass and stick to the wound.
