Exam 21: Peripheral Vascular System and Lymphatic System

The nurse uses the profile sign during an assessment. What does this technique detect?

The nurse is attempting to assess the femoral pulse in a patient who is obese. Which of these actions would be most appropriate?

The nurse is reviewing the risk factors for venous disease. Which of these situations best describes a person at highest risk for the development of venous disease?

The nurse is examining the lymphatic system of a healthy 3-year-old child. Which finding should the nurse expect?

When auscultating over a patient's femoral arteries, the nurse notices the presence of a bruit on the left side. Which statement about bruits is accurate?

A patient has been diagnosed with venous stasis. Which of these findings would the nurse most likely observe?

During an assessment, the nurse notices that a patient's left arm is swollen from the shoulder down to the fingers, with nonpitting brawny edema. The right arm is normal. The patient had a left-sided mastectomy 1 year ago. Based on these findings, what does the nurse suspect?

During an assessment, the nurse elevated a patient's legs 12 inches off the table and had him wag his feet to drain off venous blood. After helping him sit up and dangle his legs over the side of the table, what should the nurse expect for a normal finding?

A patient complains of leg pain that wakes him at night. He states that he "has been having problems" with his legs. He has pain in his legs when they are elevated that disappears when he dangles them. He recently noticed "a sore" on the outer aspect of the right ankle. What do these findings suggest?

A patient is recovering from several hours of orthopedic surgery. During an assessment of the patient's lower legs, the nurse will monitor for signs of acute venous symptoms. Signs of acute venous symptoms include which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

The nurse is preparing to assess the dorsalis pedis artery. Where is the correct location for palpation?

When assessing a patient's pulse, the nurse notes that the amplitude is weaker during inspiration and stronger during expiration. When the nurse measures the blood pressure, the reading decreases 20 mm Hg during inspiration and increases with expiration. What do these findings indicate?

During an assessment of an older adult, the nurse should expect to which finding as a normal physiologic change associated with the aging process?

A patient has hard, nonpitting edema of the left lower leg and ankle. The right leg has no edema. When interpreting these findings, what should the nurse recall?

During a visit to the clinic, a woman in her seventh month of pregnancy states that her legs feel "heavy in the calf" and that she often has foot cramps at night. The nurse notices that the patient has dilated, tortuous veins apparent in her lower legs. Which condition is reflected by these findings?

The nurse is reviewing venous blood flow patterns. Which of these statements best describes the mechanism(s) by which venous blood returns to the heart?

When using a Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope, the nurse recognizes venous flow when which sound is heard?

The nurse is reviewing an assessment of a patient's peripheral pulses and notices that the documentation states that the radial pulses are "2+." The nurse recognizes that this reading indicates what type of pulse?

A 65-year-old patient is experiencing pain in his left calf when he exercises which disappears after resting for a few minutes. What problem in the left leg does this indicate?

The nurse is preparing to assess the ankle-brachial index (ABI) of a patient. Which statement about the ABI is true?