Medical Assistant Skills

Question 0

Ayer blade

Answer 0

Wooden or plastic blade used scrape cells from the cervix of the uterus; used for Pap tests

Question 1

Auscultation

Answer 1

Process of listening for sounds in the body

Question 2

Bandage scissors

Answer 2

Special scissors with a blunt lower end used to remove dressings and bandages

Question 3

Dorsal recumbent

Answer 3

Position where the patient lies flat on their back with their knees flexed and separated; vaginal & pelvic examination

Question 4

Electrocardiogram

Answer 4

(ECG or EKG) graphic tracing of the electrical activity of the heart.

Question 5

Fowlers position

Answer 5

When patient lies on their back with their head elevated at one of several different angles

Question 6

Hemostats

Answer 6

Special group of curved or straight instruments, usually striated at the ends; used to clamp blood vessels to stop bleeding or graph tissue

Question 7

Horizontal recumbent

Answer 7

Position where the patient lies flat on their back, face upward (supine position)

Question 8

Hyperopia

Answer 8

Farsightedness; defect in near vision

Question 9

Jackknife

Answer 9

Position where patient lies flat on the abdomen with both the head and legs inclined downward with the rectal area elevated

Question 10

Knee-chest

Answer 10

Position where the patient rests his or her body weight on the knees and chest; used for sigmoidoscopic and rectal examinations

Question 11

Laryngeal mirror

Answer 11

Instrument with a mirror, used to examine the larynx

Question 12

Leads

Answer 12

Angles or views of the heart that is recorded in an electrocardiograph

Question 13

Left lateral

Answer 13

Position (sim’s position) when the patient lies flat on their left side with the right leg bent up near the abdomen

Question 14

Lithotomy

Answer 14

Position where the patient lies on back with their feet in stirrups and the knees flexed and separated

Question 15

Medication

Answer 15

Drug used to treat a disease or condition

Question 16

Myopia

Answer 16

Nearsightedness; defect in distant vision

Question 17

Needle holder

Answer 17

Instrument used to hold or support a needle while sutures (stitches are being inserted

Question 18

Observation

Answer 18

To look at, watch, perceive or notice

Question 19

Ophthalmoscope

Answer 19

Instrument used to examine the eye

Question 20

Otoscope

Answer 20

Instrument used to examine the ear

Question 21

Palpating

Answer 21

Using hands to feel body parts during examination

Question 22

Papanicolaou

Answer 22

(Pap test) to classify abnormal cells obtained from the vagina or cervix

Question 23

Percussion

Answer 23

Process of tapping various body parts during examination

Question 24

Percussion hammer

Answer 24

Instrument used to check reflexes

Question 25

Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)

Answer 25

Reference book that contains essential information on medications

Question 26

Prone

Answer 26

Position when the patient lies flat on the abdomen, with the legs together and the face tuned to the side

Question 27

Retractors

Answer 27

Instruments used to hold the lips or side of an wound or an incision

Question 28

Scalpels

Answer 28

Instruments with a knife blade & used to make an incise (cut) skin and tissue

Question 29

Sigmoidoscope

Answer 29

Instrument used to examine the sigmoid, or s-shaped, section of the large intestine

Question 30

Sims’ position

Answer 30

When the patient lies on their left side with the right leg bent up near the abdomen.

Question 31

Snellen charts

Answer 31

Special chart that uses letters or symbols in calibrated Heights to check for vision defects in distant vision

Question 32

Speculum

Answer 32

Instrument used to dilate, or enlarge, an opening or passage in the body for examination purposes

Question 33

Supine

Answer 33

Position where the patient lies flat on their back, face upward

Question 34

Surgical scissors

Answer 34

Special scissors used to cut tissue

Question 35

Sutures

Answer 35

Surgical stitches used to join edges of an incision, or wound; also the area where the bones join/fuse together

Question 36

Suture-removal sets

Answer 36

Set of instruments (suture scissors and thumb forceps) to remove stitches/ sutures

Question 37

Tissue forceps

Answer 37

Instrument with one or more fire points (teeth) at the tips of blades; used to grasp tissue

Question 38

Tonometer

Answer 38

Instrument used to measure intraocular (within the eye) pressure

Question 39

Trendelenburg position

Answer 39

When the patient lies on their back with their head lower than the feet, or with both the head & feet inclined downward

Question 40

Tuning fork

Answer 40

Instrument that has two prongs and is used to test hearing activity

Question 41

Estetoscopio

Answer 41

(Stethoscope) instrument used to listen to internal sounds in the body