AUTONOMICS 🫀
Which branch of the autonomic nervous system drives the "fight-or-flight" response, increasing heart rate and dilating pupils?
Sympathetic Nervous System
To physically dilate a patient's lungs during an acute bronchospasm, what broad class of autonomic drug must be administered?
Adrenergic Agonist
If a scrubbed doctor lets their hands drop completely straight by their sides below the level of the operating table or waist, what happens to their sterile status?
Contaminated (Non-sterile)
What clinical scoring system requires a patient to open their mouth and stick out their tongue so an anesthetist can grade how much airway space is visible?
The Mallampati Score
What receptor type does nicotine bind to at autonomic ganglia and the neuromuscular junction, and which ion influx causes the cell to depolarize?
What specific cholinergic antagonist is given intra-operatively to block the vagus nerve's parasympathetic slowing effect on the heart?
Atropine
When moving around an operating theatre, how must an unscrubbed student physically pass a scrubbed, sterile team member to avoid contamination?
Face-to-face from a safe distance (Never turn your back to a sterile field)
General anesthesia relaxes upper airway muscles completely. What specific anatomical structure drops backward due to gravity to cause a mechanical airway obstruction?
The Base of the Tongue
Which specific cranial nerve carries the parasympathetic preganglionic fibers directly to the heart to slow down SA node pacing?
Cranial Nerve X (The Vagus Nerve)
During anaphylactic shock, which specific autonomic receptor located on vascular smooth muscle must be stimulated to cause therapeutic vasoconstriction and raise blood pressure?
Alpha-1 (α₁) adrenergic receptors
When executing a proper modern surgical hand rub using alcohol gel, what is the exact anatomical sequence of zones you must rub from top to bottom?
When executing the 3-3-2 rule to predict a difficult intubation, what specific, rigid neck bone are you placing your fingers against to measure the final "2" fingers from the thyroid notch?
The Hyoid Bone
Which specific muscarinic receptor subtype is found on the heart's SA node to slow heart rate, and what subclass of G-protein does it activate?
When administering the β₂-agonist Albuterol to open the lungs, what type of G-protein receptor does it bind to, what complex does it stimulate, and what second messenger system does it increase?
You accidentally brush against a sterile drape with your unscrubbed jacket during a rotation. What is your immediate ethical and professional obligation?
Speak up immediately and declare out loud that the field has been contaminated
When performing a Jaw Thrust maneuver to clear a snoring airway, you place your fingers behind the angles of which specific bone to pull the tongue base forward?
The Mandible
Which modified sympathetic structure is innervated directly by preganglionic fibers, and which neurotransmitter and receptor type activate it?
Outside of the lungs, name two distinct anatomical structures or organs where β₂ adrenergic receptors are physically located.
In the operating theatre, who is the specific team member responsible for managing the sterile field, passing instruments to the surgeon, and tracking the surgical counts?
The Scrub Nurse (or Scrub Tech)
Placing towels under a patient's head for HELP positioning flexes the neck and extends the head to align three specific anatomical pathways into a single straight line. These three structural axes are named directly after the three cavities or regions the air must physically travel through from the lips down to the vocal cords. Name all three.