Foundational Knowledge and Basic Science — practice questions

10% of the exam ≈15 real questions 19 free questions here

15 scored items covering health care settings, medical terminology, basic pharmacology, nutrition and psychology. Terminology is the highest-yield part: decode the word parts and you can answer questions about terms you have never seen.

Where people lose points

• Learn word parts rather than whole terms. A prefix, root and suffix will decode hundreds of words; memorized lists will not.
• Similar-sounding prefixes reverse meaning — hyper versus hypo, inter versus intra, peri versus para. These are deliberately paired in distractors.
• The six rights of medication administration are tested as a checklist you apply to a scenario, not as a list you recite.
• Drug classification questions usually want the class effect, not the individual drug — know what a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor does as a group.
• Some abbreviations are on the do-not-use list precisely because they cause errors. A question may ask which one should never be written.

Questions and answers, explained

All 10 questions above, with the correct answer and why it is correct. Everything here is on foundational knowledge and basic science.

1. The suffix -itis means:

   • ASurgical removal
   • BInflammationCorrect
   • CEnlargement
   • DStudy of

   Why: The suffix -itis means inflammation, so dermatitis is inflammation of the skin and gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining. The suffix -ectomy indicates surgical removal, -megaly indicates enlargement, and -ology indicates the study of a subject.

   Reference Domain 1B (k11 medical word building: roots, prefixes, suffixes)

2. The prefix hypo- means:

   • AAbove normal or excessive
   • BAround or surrounding
   • CBelow, under, or deficientCorrect
   • DPainful or difficult

   Why: Hypo- means below, under, or deficient, as in hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and hypotension (low blood pressure). Its opposite, hyper-, means above normal or excessive, as in hyperglycemia and hypertension; peri- means around and dys- means painful or difficult.

   Reference Domain 1B (k11 medical word building: prefixes)

3. A patient states, "I have a big black-and-blue mark on my thigh from bumping into the table." Which medical term most accurately documents this finding?

   • ALaceration
   • BAbrasion
   • CAvulsion
   • DContusionCorrect

   Why: A contusion is a bruise, bleeding into the tissue beneath intact skin from blunt force. A laceration is a torn or jagged cut through the skin, an abrasion is a scrape of the superficial skin layer, and an avulsion is tissue torn away from the body; all three involve broken skin, which this patient does not have.

   Reference Domain 1B (k12 lay vs medical terms); Domain 3B (k77 common types of injuries)

4. Which term means toward the back of the body?

   • AAnterior
   • BVentral
   • CPosteriorCorrect
   • DSuperior

   Why: Posterior, also called dorsal, means toward the back of the body. Anterior and ventral both mean toward the front, and superior means toward the head.

   Reference Domain 1B (k13 positional and directional terminology)

5. Under which payment model is a health care organization reimbursed a separate amount for each individual service, test, or visit provided?

   • ACapitation
   • BValue-based purchasing
   • CBundled payment
   • DFee for serviceCorrect

   Why: Fee for service pays a separate charge for each discrete service delivered. Value-based purchasing, the closest distractor, ties payment to quality outcomes and cost efficiency rather than to the volume of services billed.

   Reference Domain 1A, k6; CMS payment model definitions

6. During a scheduled telehealth visit, a patient's video freezes repeatedly and she reports new shortness of breath while sitting still. What should the medical assistant do first?

   • AContinue the visit using audio only and document the connection problem
   • BReschedule the visit for the next available telehealth slot
   • CAsk the patient to restart her device and log back in
   • DInstruct the patient to seek immediate in-person evaluation and notify the provider right awayCorrect

   Why: New shortness of breath at rest is a potential emergency, and a virtual visit is not an appropriate setting to evaluate it, so the MA escalates immediately and directs the patient to in-person care. Switching to audio only solves the technical problem but leaves a potentially unstable patient without a hands-on assessment.

   Reference Domain 1A, k5; Domain 3B, k90–k91 (conditions appropriate for telehealth)

7. A radiology report describes lesions on several vertebrae. What is the singular form of "vertebrae"?

   • AVertebrum
   • BVertebraCorrect
   • CVertebras
   • DVertebrices

   Why: Latin nouns ending in -a form their plural with -ae, so the singular of vertebrae is vertebra. The closest distractor, "vertebrum," misapplies the -um/-a pattern used by words such as ovum/ova and bacterium/bacteria.

   Reference Domain 1B, k11 (plurals)

8. A provider's handwritten order reads "levothyroxine 1.0 mg PO daily." What should the medical assistant do?

   • ATranscribe the order as written, since the decimal point makes the dose clear
   • BClarify the order with the provider, because a trailing zero can be misread as a tenfold overdoseCorrect
   • CRewrite the order as ".1 mg" before entering it in the EHR
   • DEnter the order as 10 mg, because the trailing zero indicates tens

   Why: The Joint Commission "Do Not Use" list prohibits a trailing zero (X.0 mg) in medication orders because a missed decimal point turns 1.0 mg into 10 mg. The order must be clarified and rewritten as "1 mg"; option C is also prohibited because a naked decimal (.X mg) lacking a leading zero is on the same list, and a medical assistant never alters a dose independently.

   Reference Domain 1B, k10; The Joint Commission Do Not Use list (trailing zero, lack of leading zero)

9. Which statement correctly describes a Schedule II controlled substance?

   • AIt has no currently accepted medical use in the United States.
   • BIt has the lowest abuse potential of all the scheduled drugs.
   • CIt has an accepted medical use and a high abuse potential that can lead to severe dependence.Correct
   • DIt consists of preparations containing limited quantities of certain narcotics.

   Why: The DEA defines Schedule II drugs as having a high potential for abuse — less than Schedule I — with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence, while still having accepted medical uses (for example, oxycodone). Option A describes Schedule I, which by definition has no currently accepted medical use; option D describes Schedule V.

   Reference Domain 1C, k15; DEA drug scheduling (dea.gov)

10. A patient scheduled for a contrast imaging study has documented anaphylaxis to iodinated contrast. This history is best described as:

    • AA contraindication to the studyCorrect
    • BAn indication for the study
    • CA side effect of contrast
    • DA therapeutic effect

    Why: A contraindication is a condition that makes a treatment inadvisable or unsafe; prior anaphylaxis to the agent must be flagged for the provider before the study proceeds. An indication, the opposite relationship, is the clinical reason a treatment is given.

    Reference Domain 1C, k16

Topics inside this domain

• Correcting an error in the medical record
• Medical assistant scope of practice
• Blood pressure categories and measurement errors
• Injection routes, sites and angles
• Vaccine cold chain and storage
• Specimen labeling and patient identification

Drill other domains

• Anatomy and Physiology (5.3%)
• Patient Intake and Vitals (9.3%)
• General Patient Care (18.7%)
• Infection Control and Safety (10%)
• Point of Care Testing and Laboratory Procedures (6%)
• Phlebotomy (8%)

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