General knowledge

When compared to visible light, which is not very penetrating, why can radiation such as x-rays and
gamma rays pass right through the human body? Because:

A. the density of the human body is relatively low.

B. they have no mass and no charge.

C. atoms in the body are mostly empty space.

D. they have very high energy.

Answer is D: X and gamma rays are high

What does the term Ionising radiation refer to?

A. the radiation that is emitted by ionised atoms.

B. that part of the electromagnetic spectrum with wavelengths less than 300 nm which has enough
energy to produce ions.

C. alpha, beta and gamma rays spontaneously emitted from radionuclides.

D. radiation with enough energy to produce ionisation in the material which absorbs it.

Answer is D: If the

When inspecting an x-ray image, the order of densities from blackest to whitest is:
A. Bone, water, fat, air

B. Air, fat, water, bone

C. Air, water, fat, bone

D. Bone, air, water, fat

Answer is B: The blackest part on an x-ray image is air, whil
Exposing a foetus or young baby to x-rays should be avoided. What is the cause of the danger most likely
to be due to?

A. Denaturing of cells due to the increase in temperature in cells absorbing radiation.

B. Damage to a cell’s DNA.

C. The baby becoming radioactive.

D. The formation of a blood clot.

Answer is B: X-rays are ionising radiation. This means that ions may be formed from the atoms that
make up DNA. In this case, the chemical bonds between atoms will be broken and the

Why is radiotherapy using high energy x-rays, an effective way of treating some cancer? Because

A. if enough energy is deposited in tumor cells, they can be killed.

B. most of the x-rays pass through the body without harming healthy tissue.

C. the dose to the skin surface is lower than with low energy x-rays.

D. high energy x-rays do not kill healthy cells.

Answer is A: The ability of x-rays to b

18. What does the process known as anabolism refer to?

A. the use of energy for producing chemical substances.

B. the breaking down phase of metabolism.

C. all the chemical process that take place in the organelles of the cells.

D. the supply of nutrients to the body’s cells.

Answer is A: anabolism refers to the process of constructing/building molecules (think anabolic

steroids). B refers to catabolism. C refers to metabolism.

19. To what does the term “hypochondriac” refer?

A. A condition of having too few chondria.

B. The region of abdomen inferior to the ribs.

C. A person who often complains of an ailment.

D. Having insuffi cient cartilage in the knees.

Answer is B: In this case “hypo-” means below, while “-chondr” refers to the cartilage joining the ribs to
the sternum (the costal cartilages). The regions of the abdomen immediately inferior to these rib
cartilages (on the left and right sides of the body) is what is being referred to

20. If a medical image displays internal anatomy in mid-sagittal section, which of the following describes
the section?

A. A vertical section through the nose and umbilicus that divides the body into right and left halves.

B. A cross-section through the midriff at about the level of the liver.

C. A cross-section through the upper chest at about the level of the shoulders.

D. A vertical section through the midpoint of the clavicle and through either the right or left thigh.

Answer is A: A Sagittal section divides the body into left and right portions. A mid sagittal section means
that the dividing line is in the vertical mid line of the body so that the halves are equal.

21. Which of the following best describes the “anatomical position”?

A. Standing vertically, arms held horizontally, legs apart so that the tips of the head, hands and feet lie
on an imaginary circle, drawn around the body.

B. Standing “to attention”, with hands held so that thumbs are ventral while the fifth digit is dorsal

C. Standing “at ease” with hands clasped behind your back while adjacent and dorsal to the sacrum.
D. Standing vertically, arms parallel and lateral to the ribs with hands inferior to the elbows and
supinated.

Answer is D: The anatomical position is achieved when standing with feet comfortably apart while
displaying the ventral surface of the head, body and forearms to the same direction (forwards).

22. Which term describes the location of the adrenal glands with reference to the kidneys?
A. proximal

B. distal

C. superior

D. inferior

Answer is C: The adrenal glands are on the cephalic side of the kidneys. Being closer to the head, they
are termed “superior to the kidneys”.

23. Which of the following terms is NOT used to identify a region of the abdomen?

A. left hypochondriac

B. hypogastric

C. epigastric

D. right sacral

Answer is D: Right sacral is not a region on the anterior surface of the

abdomen.

24. What structure separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominal cavity?

A. The mediastinum

B. The diaphragm

C. The peritoneum

D. The pylorus

Answer is B: The muscular diap

3. Which of the following imaging modalities does NOT involve the use of “ionising radiation”?

A. mammography
B. ultrasound

C. a scintigram using technetium

D.

a chest x-ray

Answer is B: Ultrasound produces an oscillation in the particles of the body,

but does not use ionising electromagnetic radiation.

4. When inspecting an x-ray image, the order of densities from blackest to whitest

is:

A. Bone, water, fat, air

B. Air, fat, water, bone

C. Air, water, fat, bone

D.

Bone, air, water, fat

Answer is B: The blackest part on an x-ray image is air, while the whitest is

bone.

5. Which of the following imaging modalities uses x-rays?

A.

computed tomography (CT).

B. single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

C. positron emission tomography (PET).

D. nuclear medicine scan (scintigram).

Answer is A: CT machines generate x-rays. The others are all nuclear medicine

procedures.

6. Radiation which is “ionising” includes which of the following?

A. x-rays and gamma rays

B. infra-red radiation

C. radiation emitted by mobile phones

D. microwaves

Answer is A: The other three choices, while also being forms of electromagnetic radiation, do not utilise
energies that are sufficient to remove electrons

from their atoms.

3. Which of the following imaging modalities does NOT involve the use of “ionising radiation”?

A. mammography
B. ultrasound

C. a scintigram using technetium

D.

a chest x-ray

Answer is B: Ultrasound produces an oscillation in the particles of the body,

but does not use ionising electromagnetic radiation.

4. When inspecting an x-ray image, the order of densities from blackest to whitest

is:

A. Bone, water, fat, air

B. Air, fat, water, bone

C. Air, water, fat, bone

D.

Bone, air, water, fat

Answer is B: The blackest part on an x-ray image is air, while the whitest is

bone.

5. Which of the following imaging modalities uses x-rays?

A.

computed tomography (CT).

B. single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

C. positron emission tomography (PET).

D. nuclear medicine scan (scintigram).

Answer is A: CT machines generate x-rays. The others are all nuclear medicine

procedures.

6. Radiation which is “ionising” includes which of the following?

A. x-rays and gamma rays

B. infra-red radiation

C. radiation emitted by mobile phones

D. microwaves

Answer is A: The other three choices, while also being forms of electromagnetic radiation, do not utilise
energies that are sufficient to remove electrons

from their atoms.

1. Which statement about the differences between medical imaging using x-rays
and a nuclear medicine scan using gamma rays is correct?

A. an x-ray procedure leaves the patient with residual radioactivity while

nuclear medicine does not.

B. a gamma ray source can be switched off after which no gamma radiation is

produced while an x-ray source will continue to produce radiation until the

source decays.

C. x-rays produce an image of internal anatomy while a nuclear medicine scan

provides information about the functioning of an organ or tissue.

D.

a beam of gamma rays is fired at the patient and detected on the other side,

while x-rays are produced by the nucleus of a radionuclide incorporated in

the patient’s body.

Answer is C: X-rays that pass through the body without being absorbed by the

body are used to produce an image of internal structure. In nuclear medicine, a

radioactive material is incorporated into the body, travels to certain organs from

where a gamma ray is emitted. If physiology is altered sufficiently to affect the

way the radioactive material moves about the body, the resulting image provides information about
how much alteration there has been.