AAPC-CPC Certified Professional Coder - Set 1 - Part 2

Correct Answer: Acromegaly

Acromegaly is the adult disorder in which abnormally high levels of GH trigger growth of bones in the face, hands, and feet. The same hormone excess in children is called gigantism. Option a is incorrect because it stems from hypersecretion of cortisol, often from a pituitary tumor, and shows high blood glucose with lipid deposits on the face and neck. Option b is incorrect because it is a rare disorder with low blood glucose and low blood sodium, marked by vague signs such as weakness and nausea. Option c is incorrect because it also arises from abnormally high GH, but it occurs in children and prompts excessive growth of the whole body.

Correct Answer: Hemiplegia

Hemiplegia combines hemi- (half) with plegia and means paralysis of half, the right or left side, of the body. Monoplegia, quadriplegia and panplegia describe other extents of paralysis. Option b is incorrect because it denotes total paralysis, covering the whole body instead of one right or left half. Option c is incorrect because it refers to paralysis of four limbs, which goes beyond a single side of the body. Option d is incorrect because it names paralysis of one limb rather than half of the body, so it is narrower than the condition described.

Correct Answer: Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases leading to progressive degeneration of the optic nerve. The resulting loss of nerve tissue causes gradual irreversible vision loss and potential blindness if not detected and treated early. Option a is incorrect because it is a clouding of the normally clear lens, usually treated by surgery, and does not involve degeneration of the optic nerve. Option c is incorrect because this disease affects the retina, where veins dilate and fluid leaks from blood vessels, and it is caused by diabetes mellitus. Option d is incorrect because inflammation of the conjunctiva is its defining feature, and management targets the underlying cause such as allergens, chemicals or pathogens.

Correct Answer: Sarcoma

Sarcomas originate in connective or supportive tissue such as muscles, tendons, fat, joints and bones. They are named by adding the suffix -oma, meaning tumour, to the end of the combining word. Option a is incorrect because it arises from the hematopoietic portion of the bone marrow, which is blood-forming tissue, not general connective tissue. Option b is incorrect because it is a malignant tumour of epithelial tissues that line body surfaces, glands and organs, not of connective or supportive tissue. Option d is incorrect because it describes a cancerous tumour of the lymph nodes, so its tissue of origin is lymphatic rather than muscle, fat or bone.

Correct Answer: N component

In TNM staging, N indicates whether cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, the size of the nodes that contain cancer, and how many lymph nodes are affected. Option b is incorrect because it describes the size of the primary tumour and the degree of local invasion into nearby tissues, not lymph node involvement. Option c is incorrect because it records spread of cancer cells to other organs, called metastasis or Mets, rather than regional lymph node status. Option d is incorrect because G is the abbreviation for grade, which measures how different a cancer cell is from a normal one and is not part of TNM.

Correct Answer: Personality disorders

Personality disorders are the category defined by disruptive patterns of thinking, behaviour, and mood related to others. The other listed categories are defined by conduct, emotional state, or fixed false beliefs. Option a is incorrect because they affect emotional state, ranging from extreme sadness to extreme happiness, and are not defined by patterns involving relationships with others. Option b is incorrect because they are described as disruptive patterns of conduct, with persistent and repetitive behaviours that impair functioning, rather than patterns of thinking and mood toward others. Option d is incorrect because they are conditions in which the individual holds repetitive false or fixed beliefs that are not factual.

Correct Answer: Treating mental disorders with psychological techniques rather than physical methods

Psychotherapy is a method of treating mental disorders using psychological techniques instead of physical methods. It can involve talking, interpreting, listening, rewarding, and role-playing, and includes types such as family therapy and psychoanalysis. Option a is incorrect because this is the World Health Organization definition of mental health, a condition of well-being, and not a method used to treat mental disorders. Option c is incorrect because this describes disassociation, which is tied to dissociative disorder and trauma, so it names a mental process and not a treatment. Option d is incorrect because this defines a mental disorder, the condition being treated, so it describes the problem that psychotherapy addresses and not the treatment method.

Correct Answer: Panic disorder and personality disorder

In the mental health abbreviation list, PD means panic disorder and is also noted as personality disorder. A coder must use the surrounding documentation to decide which meaning the provider intended. Option a is incorrect because post-traumatic stress disorder is abbreviated PTSD, so it does not share the PD abbreviation with panic disorder. Option b is incorrect because oppositional defiant disorder carries its own abbreviation, ODD, and is not a meaning given for PD. Option c is incorrect because obsessive-compulsive disorder is abbreviated OCD, a separate entry from PD in the mental health abbreviation list.

Correct Answer: Diffusion

Within the cytoplasm, materials move by diffusion, a physical process that can work only for short distances. Diffusion is therefore the process that carries substances through the gel-like fluid inside the cell. Option b is incorrect because this takes place in the nucleolus, a dense region of RNA in the nucleus, rather than in the cytoplasm as a means of transport. Option c is incorrect because it is another generalized cell function, concerned with building proteins, and is not described as the way materials travel within cytoplasm. Option d is incorrect because it is a generalized cell function that makes new cells, not a physical process that carries materials through the cytoplasm.

Correct Answer: Homeostasis

The autonomic nervous system's sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions act antagonistically, one stimulating and the other inhibiting. This functional relationship serves as a balance that helps maintain homeostasis, a state of relative constancy of the internal environment. Option a is incorrect because responsiveness is a separate life process, and the antagonistic arrangement is described as a balancing mechanism rather than as a reaction to stimuli. Option b is incorrect because metabolism is another life process; the guidance never credits paired stimulation and inhibition from the two divisions with driving it. Option c is incorrect because differentiation is listed among the human life processes, but the guidance ties the opposing action of the two divisions to balance, not to cell specialization.

Correct Answer: I, II, and III

Brachial names the upper arm, crural names the lower leg between knee and ankle, and femoral names the thigh. Antebrachial names the forearm, so statement IV is false and only I, II, and III are correct. Option a is incorrect because leaves out statement III, which is also accurate because the femoral region names the thigh, so this combination is incomplete.One true statement is missing.' Option b is incorrect because pairs a true statement with statement IV, but antebrachial names the forearm, not the upper arm, which is why brachial is used for that area. Option d is incorrect because includes statement IV, which misassigns the antebrachial region, and it drops statement II, although the crural region does name the lower leg.

Correct Answer: Sebaceous gland

A sebaceous gland is an oil gland that generates and excretes sebum, a mixture of lipids. Sebum lubricates and waterproofs the skin and hair, keeping the stratum corneum pliable. Option a is incorrect because it produces a hypotonic sweat for thermoregulation and is abundant on the palms, soles, and forehead, rather than an oily lipid mixture. Option c is incorrect because it describes how secretions leave a gland by exocytosis through a duct, a class that includes sweat glands, not an oil-producing gland. Option d is incorrect because this is the general term for sweat glands, which release sweat to cool the warm body instead of secreting sebum.

Correct Answer: Secretes synovial fluid

The functions of the skeletal system are support, movement, protection of internal organs, blood cell production, and storage and release of minerals and fat. Secreting synovial fluid is the job of the synovial membrane in a joint. Option a is incorrect because blood cell production is named in the skeletal system function list, so it is a genuine member of the set. Option b is incorrect because protection is a stated skeletal function, so it belongs to the set rather than standing apart from it. Option d is incorrect because support is the first function named for the skeletal system, which forms the framework of the body.

Correct Answer: Sacrum

The pelvic girdle forms from the fusion of the ilium, ischium, and pubis. The sacrum belongs to the pelvis, which adds it and the coccyx to the two hip bones, but it is not one of the three fused bones. Option b is incorrect because it is the largest part of the hip bone and is one of the three bones that fuse during adolescence. Option c is incorrect because it forms the lower portion of the pelvic girdle, so it is a genuine member of the fused set. Option d is incorrect because it makes up the anterior portion of the pelvic girdle and is therefore among the three fused bones.

Correct Answer: Sternum

The thoracic cage (rib cage) consists of 12 pairs of ribs with their costal cartilages and the sternum. This bony structure forms the thorax and protects the heart and lungs. Option a is incorrect because the humerus is the bone of the upper arm, so it belongs to the upper limb, not the thorax. Option c is incorrect because the coccyx is the tailbone at the end of the vertebral column and has no part in the rib cage. Option d is incorrect because the sacrum is the triangular-shaped bone at the base of the spine, part of the vertebral column rather than the thoracic cage.

Correct Answer: Hamstrings

The hamstrings are antagonists to the quadriceps femoris muscle group. The quadriceps straightens the leg at the knee, while the hamstrings flex the leg at the knee. Option a is incorrect because they form the largest muscle mass of the posterior group of the thigh and, as a group, adduct the thigh rather than flex the leg. Option b is incorrect because these muscles are located in the leg and plantar flex the foot, so they act at the ankle, not the knee. Option c is incorrect because it dorsiflexes the foot and is antagonistic to the gastrocnemius and soleus, not to the quadriceps femoris group.

Correct Answer: Maintaining posture

Muscles keep the posture of the body through contraction, which holds the trunk straight when sitting or standing. This is a function of the muscular system, in addition to assisting with movement. Option b is incorrect because naming by action is a nomenclature criterion, such as flexor or adductor, and describes how muscles are labeled rather than what they do. Option c is incorrect because in the stomach example, epithelial and connective tissues form the lining, while muscle tissue contributes to the wall, so linings are not a muscular function. Option d is incorrect because relaxation is the lengthening of fibers in the opposing muscle of an antagonistic pair, which is part of movement, not the function of holding the trunk upright.

Correct Answer: I, II, and III

Voluntary responses are governed by the somatic nervous system, involuntary responses by the autonomic nervous system, and responses include neural control of glands. Responses are not limited to skeletal muscle, because cardiac and smooth muscle are also affected. Option a is incorrect because leaves out the neural control of glands, which is also described as a response, so the combination is incomplete. Option c is incorrect because includes the claim limiting responses to skeletal muscle, yet the nervous system also affects cardiac muscle, smooth muscle and glands, and it omits the somatic role. Option d is incorrect because relies on the skeletal-muscle-only claim, which is contradicted by autonomic control of involuntary responses, a statement this combination leaves out.

Correct Answer: Gray matter

The cerebral cortex is the thin layer of gray matter on the outside of the cerebrum. It is about a millimeter thick in most regions and highly folded to fit within the cranial vault. Option a is incorrect because arachnoid is the cobweb-like middle meningeal layer, with threadlike strands attaching it to the pia mater, and it lies outside the brain tissue. Option b is incorrect because dura mater is the tough white fibrous outer layer of the meninges around the brain, a membrane covering rather than the folded surface of the cerebrum. Option c is incorrect because pia mater is the innermost meningeal layer, tightly bound to the brain surface; it is a thin membrane, not the cortex itself.

Correct Answer: Superior rectus

Four of the six extraocular muscles lie at cardinal points and are named for them. The eye moves toward the contracting muscle, so contraction of the superior rectus rotates the eye to look up. Option a is incorrect because it is positioned at the lower cardinal point, and its contraction moves the eye toward itself, which is downward rather than up. Option b is incorrect because it sits on the side nearest the nose, so contracting it draws the eye toward the midline instead of upward. Option d is incorrect because it is arranged at the outer cardinal point, and its contraction turns the eye outward, not upward.