BMS 250 GVSU Comprehensive Exam 2025 ( 132 expert curated questions with solutions + rationales )

The study of body structures in general is known as ---- whereas a subdividsion of this field that studies structures at the body surface level is known as ------

Anatomy; Superficial anatomy

Our hands get really cold when temperature drops to 14F (-10C). What components of homeostasis is activated in this scenario?

Receptors

Negative feedback that control calcium levels in your blood can fall apart if which of the following statements below are true in regard to calcium homeostasis components?

Control center works fine, but the effector cells are compromised

Multiple cells working together to deliver a common function is referred to as

Complex tissue

The second most abundant chemical compound that makes up the plasma membrane, is

Cholesterol

List three important tools when studying anatomy

- Observation

- Manipulation

- Palpation

- Auscultation

- Mastery of anatomical terminology

A group of organs with a common function is what level of structural organization?

Organ System

Follow up of question 7. Say the scientist is asking a patient questions about their symptoms. What level of structural organization is the scientist looking at?

Organism

Passive membrane transport processes include

Movement of a substance down its concentration gradient

Labor is associated with higher amounts of oxytocin hormone in the blood, which causes uterine contractions. In turn, uterine contractions cause greater release of the oxytocin hormone and the two feed onto each other until the baby is delivered. This type of homeostatic mechanism is known as

Positive feedback

O2 is essential for survival because it is responsible for which of the following cellular needs?

ATP Production

Homeostasis is the condition in which the body maintains

A dynamic state of equilibrium in which internal conditions vary but within narrow limits

List three components of homeostasis

Receptors, Control center, effectors

How the body works and carries out life-sustaining activities is the realm of

Physiology

Your pancreas is secreting insulin in response to high blood sugar. Which component of homeostasis is it?

Control center

List three functional characteristics of life

Responsiveness, Metabolism, Reproduction

Our body cannot survive on mars. But then we find water on mars. What else do we need on mars

- Oxygen

- Food

- Sleep

A heterogeneous mixture, which means that their composition is dissimilar in different areas of the mixture, but their solutes although often large do not precipitate or settle out. This mixture scatters light.

Colloid

Organic compounds that cells use them as tools that drive chemical reactions, to move things around, for structural support etc.

Proteins

In general, the lipids that we refer to as oils or fats have

A high degree of double bonds between carbons

Which of the following organic compounds are used for energy storage?

Triglycerides

Carbo-loading before a marathon has to do with eating pasta so you can increase the storage of glucose in the form of ------ in the muscles

Glycogen

Plasma membranes are made up of which of the following hydrophobic compounds that arrange themselves in a double layer?

Phospholipids

Which of the following would be regarded as an inorganic molecule?

NaOH, NaCl, H20 (all are inorganic compounds... so none?)

Proteins that are bonded to sugars and give the cell the identity are known as

glycoprotein

Carbohydrates and proteins are built up from their basic building blocks by the

Removal of a water molecule between each two units

These proteins are very stable, insoluble in water and often have high tensile strength. What are these proteins known as?

Fibrous proteins

Which of the following is an example of a solution?

Saline

A chain of monosaccharides bonded together in a larger molecule is referred to as

Polysaccharide

The four elements that make up about 96% of body matter are

A. carbon, oxygen, phosphorus, calcium

B. sodium, potassium, hydrogen, oxygen

c. carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, zinc

NONE OF THE ABOVE

You notice that you cannot read your book through a test tube of patient fluid held against the print, making it so blurred as to be unreadable. There is also precipitant in the bottom of the beaker. What type of liquid is this?

Suspension

Which of the following is an incorrect statement about proteins?

Number of amino acids dictates the function of a protein but not the sequence of amino acids

A lipid molecule embedded in plasma membrane with a carbohydrate attached to it that sticks outside the plasma membrane is known as

glycolipid

------------- makes the plasma membrane less fluid and often derivatives of this molecule are used as hormones in our body

cholesterol

How many fatty acids bind to one phospholipid molecule in plasma membrane?

2

75% of the plasma membrane is made up of ------, whereas another 5% is made up of -------

Phospholipids/glycolipids

Desmosomes

anchors and distributes tension through a cellular sheet and reduces the chance of tearing when it is subjected to great mechanical stress

Which of the following is a function of a plasma membrane protein?

Molecular transport through the membrane

Which statements most accurately describes one key difference between simple diffusion and facilitated-diffusion of solutes across plasma membrane?

Passive solute diffusion across the plasma membrane in simple diffusion does not require membrane transport proteins, but through facilitated diffusion specific transport membrane proteins are required

------------ Make up the sticky carbohydrate rich area at the cell surface and are used as biological markers that allow cells to recognize each other.

Glycocalyx

Interstitial fluid is considered as ------------- fluid

Extracellular

---------- are a series of integral proteins that connect plasma membranes of adjacent cells so closely that the space between the cells can be virtually impermeable to extracellular fluid

Tight junctions

Which of the following are considered passive transport?

Osmosis

Carrier facilitated diffusion

Simple diffusion

Channel-mediated diffusion

Water movement through a selectively permeable membrane such as, plasma membrane when non-penetrating solute concentrations differ between inside and outside the cell is referred to as ----------- and is considered a ------------- transport

Osmosis, Passive

Handling nicotine (powder form) requires careful procedure, such as wearing double or triple gloves, appropriate breathing mask, and clothes. The reason was that nicotine just like many lipids is readily absorbed by the skin and can reach high doses quickly and be highly poisonous. What type of membrane transport are we talking about here?

Simple diffusion

Which of the following is abundant in bone, but is absent in cartilage?

Blood vessels

The elastic cartilage is abundant in both ------ and ---------

Elastic fiber/ground substance

Lumen of blood vessels known as -----------, is a thin layer of ------------epithelium. These epithelia are known for efficient exchange of nutrients and wastes

endothelium/simple squamous

Renal tubules in the kidney are made up of which of the following epithelia?

Simple cuboidal

Pseudostratified columnar epithelium is classified as ------, even though in a histological image nucei of the cells has an appearance of ---------.

Simple epithelia/multiple layers of cells

This epithelum has flattened cells and is very efficient in diffusion of gases or small molecules in the lungs?

Simple squamous

The cellular transport that involves moving substances such as Ca, Na, K, or H against concentration gradients is known as ------ transport. This type of transport ------ expenditure of ATP and is performed by proteins known as ----------

active/does require/pump proteins

Which of the following are common characteristics of connective tissue?

all have mesenchymal origin

The ------- connective tissue is considered to be the universal packaging material between other tissues and in fact, most epithelia rest on it. The most obvious structural features of this tissue are the empty space occupied by --------, which is abundant in water, and the random arrangement of fibers.

loose areolar/ground substance

The ------ layer is the thickest layer of the skin and is mostly made up of dense irregular connective tissue

reticular

Lining of ventral body cavity, and viscera (organs) is covered by which of the following epithelia?

Mesothelium

Sebaceous glands are found around hair follicles where they secrete their oily products. Which of the following is the mechanism of product release in these glands?

cell bursts their secretory products with other cytoplasmic elements and are destroyed in the process

List the three main components of connective tissue

Ground substance

Cells

Protein fibers

Select the correct name/s regarding the mature cells of cartilage.

chondrocytes

Which of he following epithelia is designed for protection from abrasion and other external environmental factors

Stratified epithelia

List the three main elements of the ground substance

1. Proteoglycans

2. Cell Adhesion proteins

3. glycoproteins

Both bone and cartilage have lots of which of the following fibers?

collagen

The stratum ------ consists of 4-6 layers of flat cells, which contains lots of keratin granules that gives it a darker appearance in a histology side

Granulosum

When our skin is scratched and bacteria try to infect us, which of the following is an epidermis cell specialized for alarming the immune system

dendritic cells

Which of the following epidermal cells and their functions are correctly matched?

Dendritic cells - are immune cells in the epidermis

Melanocytes - sense temp changes

Tactile cells- protect dividing cells from UV light by secreting melanin pigment

Endothelial cells - important for skin color

The epidermis consists of five layers of cells, each layer with a distinct role to play in the health, well-being, and functioning of the skin. Which of the following layers is responsible for cell division and replacement.

stratum basale

Osteoid is made up of

ground substance and collagen fiber

The spider shaped osteocytes occupy spaces conformed to their shape known as ---------- and heir tentacle like projections contact those of neighboring osteocytes via ------------

lacunae/canaliculi

Osteogenic cells are ---------- cells that when stimualted properly differentiate into ---------- cells

mitotically active/osteoblasts

Tough insoluble protein fibers that resemble woven ropes. These proteins are highly stable and provide the keratinocytes with tremendous tensile strength

Intermediate filaments

The thinnest elements of cytoskeleton are semiflexible strands of protein ---------- and are known as ---------. These proteins are known for cell movement

actin/microfilaments

The ------ glands synthesize their products in their ------- and then once secreted they are directed by ________ onto body surfaces or into body cavities

exocrine/acinus/ducts

The two main organic components of bone are:

-------------

Long after death our bones maintain their shape mainly because of which of the following trapped components of bone

- Calcium or mineral salts

- Collagen

Blood production from the hematopoietic tissue, known as -------, is found in -------- of both long and flat bones

red marrow/spongy bone

The glistening white, membrane layer that covers outer surfaces of all bones, known as -----------, attaches to bone via

periosteum/tufts of collagen fibers known as sharpey's fibers

Fibrocartilage is found mainly in

discs between vertebrae

Hyaline cartilage is found in

The cartilage connections between ribs and sternum

In the joints at the surface of ends of most bones

Respiratory cartilages like larynx, trachea

Cartilage is surrounded by a layer of dense irregular connective tissue known as

Perichondrium

The most abundant glands are the ------- and are considered to contribute the most in regulating our body temperature

Sweat glands

The connective tissue that stores a lot of triglycerides and has very little extracellular matrix is known as ---------- tissue

loose adipose

The epidermis consists of five layers of cells, each layer with a distinct role to play in the health, well-being, and functioning of the skin. Which of the following layers is composed mostly of dead keratinocytes?

Stratum corneum

These glands are most often associated with hair follicles release an oily substance in our skin. Which of the following answers indicate name of this gland and the mechanism of secretion

sebaceous gland/holocrine

Membranes that cover body cavities that open to the outside the body are known as ------- membranes

Mucous

The structure of bone tissue suits the function. Which of the following bone tissues is adapted to support weight and withstand tension stress?

Trabecular bone

What triggers parathyroid hormone release in the blood?

low CA++ in the blood

Cartilage traps a lot of water primarily, because of an abundance of these water trapping molecules, known as

Proteoglycans

------------

----

-------------

----

----

------

--------

----------

Cerebrospinal fluid is made in . ----------- These structures are found in ---------------

choroid plexus

four ventricles of the brain

The toughest and most superficial layer that covers the spinal cord is known as, -------. The space immediately deep to this layer is known as ---------- space

- dura mater

- subdural

The receptive zone in a neuron includes

-Dendrites

-Soma

Which of the functions below belongs to medulla oblongata?

- control of heart rate

- control of respiration

- vomiting centers

Upper motor neurons are located in which of the following brain areas

primary motor cortex

Thalamus contains the somas of which neurons below?

third order sensory neurons

Which parts of neurons are found in the cerebral cortex?

- neuron cell bodies

- dendrites

- unmyelinated axons

Which brain are is involved in receiving auditiory information about tone and pitch of sound?

temporal lobe

The brain stem consists of which of the

- medulla oblongata

- pons

- midbrain