North Carolina EMT State Practice Exam

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Prepare for the North Carolina EMT State Exam with interactive quizzes and comprehensive explanations. Master your skills and gain confidence by reviewing key topics before test day!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

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Which symptom suggests the presence of cholecystitis?

RUQ pain
LLQ pain
Localized back pain
Shoulder pain

The correct answer is: RUQ pain

Cholecystitis, which is the inflammation of the gallbladder, is commonly associated with specific symptoms that can help in its identification. The prominent symptom indicative of cholecystitis is right upper quadrant (RUQ) pain. This pain arises as the gallbladder is located in the RUQ of the abdomen. Patients often describe this pain as sharp or severe and it may radiate to the right shoulder or back due to the shared nerve pathways. Understanding the anatomy is crucial here; any inflammation in the gallbladder typically leads to noticeable discomfort in its anatomical location. The specificity of RUQ pain as a symptom helps differentiate cholecystitis from other abdominal conditions, as other regions of pain often indicate different underlying issues. Thus, recognizing that RUQ pain is a hallmark symptom of cholecystitis reinforces the importance of localization in assessing abdominal pain.