The nurse notices that a patient's submental lymph nodes are ...

[rachel9]

The nurse notices that a patient's submental lymph nodes are enlarged. In an effort to identify the cause of the node enlargement, the nurse would assess the patient's:
 
  a. Infraclavicular area.
  b. Supraclavicular area. c.
  Area distal to the enlarged node.
  d. Area proximal to the enlarged node.

Question 2

A patient says that she has recently noticed a lump in the front of her neck below her Adam's apple that seems to be getting bigger. During the assessment, the finding that leads the nurse to suspect that this may not be a cancerous thyroid nodule
 
  is that the lump (nodule):
  a.
  Is tender.
  b.
  Is mobile and not hard.
  c.
  Disappears when the patient smiles.
  d.
  Is hard and fixed to the surrounding structures.

[kbennett34]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: D
When nodes are abnormal, the nurse should check the area into which they drain for the source of the problem. The area proximal (upstream) to the location of the abnormal node should be explored.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: B
Painless, rapidly growing nodules may be cancerous, especially the appearance of a single nodule in a young person. However, cancerous nodules tend to be hard and fixed to surrounding structures, not mobile.