Medical Surgical Nursing Final Exam Practice Questions Test Bank

On this page, you will find sample practice questions and answers for medical-surgical nursing students. To access the full set of questions, you'll have to download the free test bank. 

Vision Disorders Practice Questions and Answers

Q: What is hypermetropia?

A: Long-sightedness, where light rays converge at a point behind the retina, making nearby objects blurry while distant objects appear clearer.

Q: What is myopia?

A: Short-sightedness—near vision is clear, but distant vision is blurry. It usually starts in puberty and worsens until the eye is fully grown. It can also occur in very young children.

Q: What conditions are associated with myopia?
A:

• Squint: eyes point in different directions in childhood
• Lazy eye (amblyopia): one eye doesn’t develop properly
• Glaucoma: increased intraocular pressure
• Cataracts: cloudy patches inside the lens
• Retinal detachment: retina pulls away from its nourishing blood vessels

Q: What is astigmatism?
A: Failure to converge light at a single point on the fovea, leading to blurred or distorted vision.

Q: What causes astigmatism?
A:

• Hereditary corneal or lenticular issues
• Corneal injuries or infections that cause scarring
• Keratoconus & keratoglobus (corneal thinning and bulging)
• Eyelid conditions
• Other disorders affecting the cornea or lens

Q: What is presbyopia?
A: Gradual age-related loss of the ability to focus on near objects, typically between ages 40–65.

Conjunctivitis & Related Conditions

Q: What is the aetiology of bacterial conjunctivitis?
A: Caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, or Haemophilus influenzae. STIs such as Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae may also cause it.

Q: What is ophthalmia neonatorum?
A: Conjunctival infection in newborns caused by Chlamydia or Gonorrhoeae from the birth canal, affecting 20–40% of exposed infants.

Q: What is episcleritis?
A: Inflammation of the superficial episcleral vascular network, usually diffuse (moderate–severe, recurring every 1–3 months) or nodular/focal (sometimes linked with systemic disease).

Q: What are the classifications of allergic conjunctivitis?
A:

• Seasonal (SAC) – Type I hypersensitivity
• Perennial (PAC) – chronic
• Atopic – linked to eczema/asthma
• Giant papillary (GPC)
• Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) – limbal and tarsal involvement

Q: What is giant papillary allergic conjunctivitis?
A: Swelling of the inner eyelid lining with papillae (small bumps) due to chronic irritation.

Cornea & Ulcers Practice Questions and Answers

Q: What can cause a corneal abrasion?
A:

• Direct trauma
• Foreign body trapped under eyelid
• Heat contact injury
• UV radiation (Arc Eye)

Q: What can cause a corneal ulcer?
A: Abrasive trauma, penetrating injuries, or prolonged contact lens use.

Q: What are dendritic ulcers?
A: Corneal ulcers caused by HSV keratitis—the most common infectious cause of corneal blindness. They show a branching (dendritic) pattern with fluorescein stain.

Q: Symptoms of dendritic ulcers?
A: Pain, photophobia, blurred vision, tearing, redness.

Q: Ophthalmoscopic appearance of dendritic ulcers?
A:

• Infectious epithelial keratitis (with dendritic ulcers)
• Neurotrophic keratopathy
• Stromal keratitis/endotheliitis (disciform, diffuse, or linear)

Uveitis Practice Questions and Answers

Q: Symptoms of keratic precipitates & anterior uveitis?
A: Pain (hours–days onset), redness, photophobia, blurred vision, tearing. Chronic cases: blurred vision with mild redness.

Q: Symptoms of posterior uveitis?
A: Blurred vision, floaters, and involvement of retina, choroid, and optic nerve (caused by bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections).

Q: Ophthalmoscopy finding in posterior uveitis?
A: “Candle wax drippings” (white areas).

Q: Non-infectious diseases linked with anterior uveitis?
A: Ankylosing spondylitis, Behçet’s syndrome, IBS, juvenile arthritis, sarcoidosis, seronegative arthropathy.

Q: Infectious causes of anterior uveitis?
A: HSV, syphilis, TB, varicella zoster.

Q: Non-infectious causes of intermediate uveitis?
A: Lymphoma, MS, sarcoidosis.

Q: Non-infectious causes of posterior/panuveitis?
A: Behçet’s, lymphoma, sarcoidosis.

Q: Infectious causes of posterior/panuveitis?
A: CMV, encephalitis, syphilis, TB, varicella zoster, toxocariasis, toxoplasmosis.

Q: Workup for suspected uveitis?
A: CBC, ESR, ANA, RPR, VDRL, Lyme titer, HLA testing, chest X-ray, urinalysis, infectious screen (HIV, toxoplasmosis).

Other Eye Conditions

Q: What is a hypopyon?
A: Leukocytic exudate in the anterior chamber, often seen with Behçet’s, endophthalmitis, panuveitis, or adverse drug reactions.

Q: What are anterior synechiae?
A: Adhesions between iris and trabecular meshwork, leading to reduced aqueous humor outflow and possible raised IOP.

Q: What are floaters?
A: Spots, threads, or cobweb-like fragments in vision—caused by collagen breakdown, retinal tears, or debris in the tear film.

Q: What are cataracts and how do patients present?
A: Gradual thickening/clouding of the lens. Patients report progressive visual decline, poor night vision, and near vision disturbance.

Q: Characteristics of senile cataracts?
A: Decreased acuity, glare, myopic shift, monocular diplopia.

Cataract Surgery Practice Questions and Answers

Q: What is intracapsular extraction?
A: Removal of the entire lens (including posterior capsule and zonules). High risk of complications.

Q: What is extracapsular extraction?
A: Removal of the lens nucleus via anterior capsule incision while preserving the posterior capsule.

Q: What is phacoemulsification?
A: Cataract surgery using ultrasonic fragmentation of the nucleus and aspiration through a small incision.

Neuro-Ophthalmology

Q: What is optic neuritis?
A: Demyelinating inflammation of the optic nerve, often linked to MS or neuromyelitis optica.

Q: Signs of optic neuritis?
A: Reduced pupillary light reflex, vision loss, poor contrast/color vision, field defects, central scotoma, papillitis.

Q: Symptoms of optic neuritis?
A: Viral prodrome, rapid vision loss, pain with eye movement, dyschromatopsia, Uhthoff phenomenon (worse with heat/exercise), Pulfrich phenomenon (distorted motion perception).

Q: What is retinitis pigmentosa?
A: A group of rare, genetic retinal disorders causing progressive loss of rods/cones, leading to night blindness and peripheral vision loss.

Glaucoma Practice Questions and Answers

Q: What is primary open-angle glaucoma?
A: The most common type, developing slowly over years.

Q: Symptoms of glaucoma?
A: Eye pain, redness, headache, halos around lights, blurred vision, tenderness around eyes.

Q: What is DARC (Detection of Apoptosing Retinal Cells)?
A: Real-time imaging technique using Annexin 5 fluorescent dye to detect apoptosis in retinal cells in glaucoma.

Q: What is secondary glaucoma?
A: Glaucoma caused by underlying conditions such as uveitis.

Q: What is childhood glaucoma?
A: Rare type caused by congenital eye abnormalities.

Q: Risk factors for glaucoma?
A: Age, African/Caribbean/Asian ethnicity, family history, high myopia.

Q: Prostaglandins are most useful in which type of glaucoma?
A: Open-angle glaucoma (reduce intraocular pressure).

Q: What are carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and how do they help?
A: Drugs that lower IOP by reducing aqueous humor production. Oral forms (e.g., acetazolamide) are used if eye drops fail.

Q: Medical management of glaucoma?
A: Prostaglandin analogues (e.g., latanoprost).