# Am I going crazy?



## medichopeful (Sep 26, 2009)

Hi all,

Quick question.  Recently, I was taking an online quiz for my EMT class, and I ran across this question:

_
With regard to anatomical locations, which of the following is NOT true?:
a) The mouth is proximal to the nose
b) The umbilicus is located on the ventral aspect of the body
c) The ears are located on the lateral aspect of the head
d) The foot is distal to the knee._

I answered "B", because that was the only one I wasn't sure if it was correct or not (I looked up the definition of the word "ventral," and I can see that "B" would, in fact, be true).  But the test said that the correct answer was "A."  But last time I checked, the mouth IS proximal to the nose.  Is this correct?  Or am I missing something?

By the way, if I am not crazy, what would the correct answer be?  Because it would seem (unless I'm missing something again) that this question would not have a valid answer...

Thanks!
Eric


----------



## SanDiegoEmt7 (Sep 26, 2009)

*head ≠ arm/leg*

The head is not considered in the same manner as an arm or leg.  Proximal and distal is generally used to explain whether something is closer or farther from a structure (point of attachment), respectively.

In this case the structure is the head.  The correct way to say this would be the nose is superior to the mouth, or the mouth is inferior to the nose. Similar to saying the arms are superior to the legs.  While I see how you are getting confused, I think superior/inferior is more appropriate.


----------



## LeoLi4 (Sep 26, 2009)

I agree.  Superior and inferior would be more appropriate terms in this case.  Correct me if I am wrong, doesn't distal and proximal usually use on the extremity and rarely on the core of the body or head?


----------



## Lifeguards For Life (Sep 26, 2009)

thats a stupid question b c and d are both true. in a way a is true the mouth is closer to the point of attachment than the nose. we had alot of screwy questions on the tests in our emt class that you could bring up with the instructor, and he would often throw out. for example

which of the following can an EMTB not help a patient to administer?
a. the patients epinephrine PO
b. the patients nitro glycerin tablets
c. oxygen
d. Atropine

I do not remember the exact question but it was something similiar. Made whoever wrote the test question bank to look pretty bad


----------



## medichopeful (Sep 26, 2009)

Lifeguards For Life said:


> thats a stupid question b c and d are both true. in a way a is true the mouth is closer to the point of attachment than the nose. we had alot of screwy questions on the tests in our emt class that you could bring up with the instructor, and he would often throw out. for example
> 
> which of the following can an EMTB not help a patient to administer?
> a. the patients epinephrine PO
> ...



Yeah, I agree it was a stupid question.  Thanks for the help everybody!


----------



## JPINFV (Sep 26, 2009)

Err... A, C, and D are all correct answers.

EMT-Bs don't administer/assist epi PO. 

EMT-Bs administer O2, we don't help a patient to administer O2.

EMT-Bs don't administer/assist with atropine. 

Now if the question did not include the term "not" it would make perfect sense.


As far as the original question, I wouldn't use proximal/distal for point on the head. Superior/inferior, medial/lateral, ventral/dorsal, deep/superficial would be more appropriate designations for the head, neck, and body.


----------



## medichopeful (Sep 26, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Err... A, C, and D are all correct answers.
> 
> EMT-Bs don't administer/assist epi PO.
> 
> ...



Alright, thanks for the information.  I must have missed that in the book.


----------



## Lifeguards For Life (Sep 26, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Err... A, C, and D are all correct answers.
> 
> EMT-Bs don't administer/assist epi PO.
> 
> ...



yes. i know. some questions in the brady? test bank our class used were really that screwy. some literally had no correct answer


----------



## Mountain Res-Q (Sep 26, 2009)

medichopeful said:


> Yeah, I agree it was a stupid question.  Thanks for the help everybody!



Actually, I do not find the question stupid.  It is anatomy 101.  Distal/Proximal is used primarily in regards to limbs (in which you are using the point of attatchment as a reference point), while superior/inferior are used for the entire body, but particulaly the head and torso (as in, which anatomical feature is higher)...

It may seem like a small issue... but it will be questions like that that screw you up on tests and in the real world writing PCRs with actual medical terminology makes you look like you know what you are talking about...


----------



## JPINFV (Sep 26, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Err... A, C, and D are all correct answers.
> 
> EMT-Bs don't administer/assist epi PO.
> 
> ...



...fixed that for me.


----------



## Melclin (Sep 27, 2009)

+1 on it being a stupid question. I agree that superior/inferior in the more correct term. 

I wish uneducated teachers would stop using multi choice questions as an easy way for examination. There's really an art to writing them. You can do post graduate courses in MCQ writing - its not a simple matter.


----------



## CollegeBoy (Sep 27, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Err... A, C, and D are all correct answers.
> 
> EMT-Bs don't administer/assist epi PO.
> 
> ...



That can be a really iffy question, depends on where you live. In my state we can assist with epi.


----------



## JPINFV (Sep 27, 2009)

RuralEMT said:


> That can be a really iffy question, depends on where you live. In my state we can assist with epi.



Really? Epi *PO*? I highly doubt that any basic, anywhere, is helping administer epi *by mouth*. Come to think of it, are there any oral epi medications to begin with?


----------



## Dominion (Sep 27, 2009)

Epi is supposedly available over the counter PO in the forum of http://www.medicinenet.com/guaifenesin/article.htm.  Supposedly, I just did a bit of google fu to find that info.  If I understood what I was reading correctly, EPI is not the primary ingrediant.


----------



## Lifeguards For Life (Sep 27, 2009)

RuralEMT said:


> That can be a really iffy question, depends on where you live. In my state we can assist with epi.



I dont think you are allowed to give them epi per oral. I don't even know if they make an oral epe, and do not see much of a need for one


----------



## CollegeBoy (Sep 27, 2009)

JPINFV said:


> Really? Epi *PO*? I highly doubt that any basic, anywhere, is helping administer epi *by mouth*.



Yeah pretty sure i misread. OOPS.


----------



## VentMedic (Sep 27, 2009)

Dominion said:


> Epi is supposedly available over the counter PO in the forum of http://www.medicinenet.com/guaifenesin/article.htm. Supposedly, I just did a bit of google fu to find that info. If I understood what I was reading correctly, EPI is not the primary ingrediant.


 
Guaifenesin?  No, that is an expectorant.


----------



## dijiwhit92 (Dec 5, 2019)

It's 2019 and I just came across this exact same question. Thanks to 
*medichopeful *for creating this thread! The statement that the head is not classified the same as the rest of the body was not covered anywhere in the subject matter


----------



## luke_31 (Dec 5, 2019)

dijiwhit92 said:


> It's 2019 and I just came across this exact same question. Thanks to
> *medichopeful *for creating this thread! The statement that the head is not classified the same as the rest of the body was not covered anywhere in the subject matter


Really?  A ten year old revive with nothing new to really add to it.


----------



## Gurby (Dec 5, 2019)

luke_31 said:


> Really?  A ten year old revive with nothing new to really add to it.



By the looks of it, he was so thankful to find this post that he actually created an account *for the sole purpose of bumping this thread*.


----------



## medichopeful (Dec 6, 2019)

You're welcome.


----------



## Bishop2047 (Dec 7, 2019)




----------



## Harrish0I2 (May 20, 2020)

dijiwhit92 said:


> It's 2019 and I just came across this exact same question. Thanks to
> *medichopeful *for creating this thread! The statement that the head is not classified the same as the rest of the body was not covered anywhere in the subject matter


this is exactly what I've encountered


----------



## RedBlanketRunner (Jun 20, 2020)

NOT true. Incorrect terminology in the question. Inappropriate would be a better term.
Proximal? Try a different correct but inappropriate, the nose is anterior to the eyes.


----------



## RedBlanketRunner (Jun 21, 2020)

I just fond the original question in an old EMT course.  _The mouth is more proximal than the nose._ They just changed the wording to trip people up on the test.


----------

