Haniah R.

Ditanongun
BSMT 1A
Critical Thinking and Clinical Application Questions.

1. An engineering student has been working in a disco to earn money to pay for
his education. After about eight months, he notices that he is having
problems hearing high-pithed tones. What is the cause-and-effect relationship
here?
Answer:
The type of problem he have in

hearing high-pitched tones is called as

presbycusis, a sensorineural hearing loss. This is a common age-related hearing

loss with gradually inability to hear, especially to hear high frequency sounds but
in his/her situation it is a cause of

gradual loss of hearing receptors and

cumulative noisy/loud environmental exposures that contribute to presbycusis.

The loss of hearing is a slow development, that people with presbycusis may not
realize/detect that their ability to hear high-pitched tones is decreasing. They
may have the trouble in distinguishing and understanding conversation in a
noisy setting.

2. Nine children attending the same day-care center developed red, inflamed
eyes and eyelids. What is the most likely cause and name of this condition?
Answer:
Pink eye or conjunctivitis is very contagious. it is caused by viruses, bacteria,
allergies (especially all visible in a day care).

3. Dr. Nakvarati used an instrument to press on Mr. Cruzs eye during his annual
physical examination on his sixtieth birthday. The eye deformed very little,
indicating the intraocular pressure was too high. What was Mr. Cruzs
probable condition?
Answer:
Glaucoma which is a condition of the eye that leads to progressive atrophy of
the optic nerve often associated with increased pressure within the eye.
Glaucoma can lead to blindness.

4. Lionel suffered a ruptured artery in his middle cranial fossa, and a pool of
blood compressed his left optic tract, destroying its axons. What part of the
visual field was blinded?
Answer:
Since each side of the brain receives visual input from both eyes, this means
that the left optic nerve carries all visual info from the right half of the visual
field. Lionel cant see the right half of his visual field.

5. Sylvia Marcus, age 70, recently had surgery for otoschlerosis. The operation
was a failure and did not improve her condition. What was the purpose of the
surgery, and exactly what was it trying to accomplish?
Answer:
The surgeon was trying to remove the tiny stapes from the oval window, to
which it had rigidly fused, causing conduction deafness. This surgery didnt work

because the stapes are tiny.

6. Janie is referred to the eye clinic by her teacher, who suspects a need for
glasses. Examination demonstrates that Janie is myopic. Will she need
concave or convex lenses? Explain.
Answer:
Myopia refers to nearsightedness. Parallel rays from objects far away are
focused in front of her retina. She will need concave lens to diverge the rays so that
they will converge on the retina.

7. Julie and her father loved to find the constellations in the sky on starry nights.
One evening, Julie came running into the house and whispered excitedly into
her mother. Mom, Ive got power! When I look hard at the star it
disappears! What was happening?
Answer:
When there is little light, the color-detecting cone cells are not sensitive
enough, and all vision is done by rod cells. Cone cells are concentrated in the center
of the eye, whereas rod cells are very rare in the center . When she focused on the
star, the light is projected close to the center of the retina, where it will hit few rod
cells. Thus the star appears to vanish.

8. While visiting at her fathers office on the 25 th floor of the Harris Building,
five-year-old Katie wandered away into the hall. Fascinated by the buttons in
the elevator, she entered, pressed 1, and the high-speed elevator plummeted
to the first floor. Later she told her father that she felt like she kept on
going when the elevator stopped. Explain her sensation.

Answer:
Static Equilibrium (maculae) report the position of the head with respect to
gravitational pull changes when the body is standing still. Otoliths responding to
changes in gravity sensation bent their hair cells within the Organ of Corti during
the elevator and continued on once the elevator stopped.

9. Mrs. Miniver has an immune disorder that causes dry mouth, and she
complains to her doctor that shes lost her sense of taste. How might her
symptoms be explained?
Answer:
Sjorgen's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that affects the mucous
membranes.

The structures such as salivary and lacrimal glands get damaged

its symptoms are dry eyes, loss of saliva, and loss of taste.

10.Four-year old Gary Zammer is brought to the ophthalmologist for a routine

checkup of his vision. Gray is an albino. How do you think albinism affects
vision?
Answer:

Albinism involves a hereditary inability for melanocytes to synthesize

tyrosinase, an enzyme that is needed for the production of melanin, a lightabsorbing pigment that is normally present in the choroid and the pigmented
layer of the retina. A lack of melanin allows light scattering and reflection within
the eye, which causes visual confusion.