TEAS Anatomy and Physiology practice questions

Every body system: cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, nervous, endocrine, musculoskeletal, immune, urinary, reproductive and integumentary. Human Anatomy and Physiology is 18 of the 44 scored questions in TEAS Science.

scored questions

18

of Science's score

41%

for all of Science

60 min

1. 01Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyOn a hot, very humid day, a person sweats heavily but feels little cooling, and sweat drips from the skin. Which explanation is correct?+−

   • A. Sweat cools the body when it evaporates and absorbs heat, and high humidity slows evaporation. (correct)
   • B. Sweat cools the body by conduction into the air, which is ineffective when the air is warm.
   • C. High humidity causes cutaneous blood vessels to constrict, which traps heat in the skin.
   • D. Humid air makes sweat glands secrete a fluid that contains little water.

   Heat is lost as sweat changes from liquid to vapor, and air already saturated with water vapor limits that evaporation, so dripping sweat does not cool the body. Choice B is wrong because the cooling comes from the heat absorbed during evaporation, not from conduction.

2. 02Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyWhich of the following are characteristics of the adaptive (specific) immune response? Select all that apply.+−

   • A. Production of memory cells that allow a faster response on re-exposure (correct)
   • B. A response that is equally slow on first and second exposure to an antigen
   • C. Recognition of specific antigens by receptors on lymphocytes (correct)
   • D. Phagocytosis by neutrophils as the primary mechanism
   • E. Clonal expansion of lymphocytes after antigen recognition (correct)
   • F. Immediate redness and warmth from histamine release at the site of injury

   Adaptive immunity is defined by antigen specificity, clonal expansion, and memory, which makes the secondary response faster. Neutrophil phagocytosis and histamine-driven inflammation are innate responses, and a response equally slow on re-exposure contradicts memory.

3. 03Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyA drug dilates arterioles throughout the body but has no direct effect on the heart. Right after the drug is given, which sequence of events is expected?+−

   • A. Cardiac output rises first, which raises blood pressure and triggers a reflex slowing of the heart
   • B. Blood pressure rises because more blood enters the capillary beds, and baroreceptors then slow the heart
   • C. Systemic vascular resistance falls and blood pressure drops, and baroreceptors then trigger a reflex increase in heart rate (correct)
   • D. Venous return falls sharply, so blood pressure is unchanged and heart rate stays constant

   Blood pressure depends on cardiac output and vascular resistance, so arteriolar dilation lowers resistance and pressure. Baroreceptors detect the drop and reflexively speed the heart. Option B is wrong because increased flow through dilated vessels does not raise pressure when resistance has fallen.

4. 04Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyEmphysema destroys alveolar walls and the elastic fibers surrounding them. Which best explains why patients have difficulty exhaling air fully?+−

   • A. Excess mucus plugs the trachea and main bronchi, blocking airflow in both directions
   • B. Loss of elastic recoil lets small airways collapse during exhalation, trapping air in the lungs (correct)
   • C. Reduced alveolar surface area limits oxygen diffusion into the blood
   • D. Weakness of the diaphragm prevents the lungs from expanding during inhalation

   Passive exhalation depends on elastic recoil, so losing the elastic fibers lets small airways collapse and trap air. Reduced surface area is also true of emphysema, but it impairs gas exchange rather than explaining the difficulty emptying the lungs.

5. 05Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyA resting neuron has a membrane potential of -70 mV, and the equilibrium potential for chloride ions in this cell is -80 mV. A neurotransmitter opens chloride channels in the postsynaptic membrane. Which result is expected?+−

   • A. Cl- enters the cell, the membrane hyperpolarizes, and the neuron is less likely to fire (correct)
   • B. Cl- leaves the cell, the membrane depolarizes, and the neuron is more likely to fire
   • C. Cl- enters the cell, the membrane depolarizes toward threshold because of the added ions
   • D. No net Cl- movement occurs, because the membrane is already at rest

   The membrane at -70 mV is less negative than the chloride equilibrium potential of -80 mV, so Cl- is driven into the cell and pulls the potential toward -80 mV. This hyperpolarization moves the neuron farther from threshold. Choice C wrongly assumes entering negative ions depolarize the cell.

6. 06Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologySeveral hours after death, skeletal muscles become rigid. Which is the best explanation?+−

   • A. Calcium is pumped back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum too quickly
   • B. Acetylcholine accumulates at the neuromuscular junctions
   • C. Troponin permanently covers the myosin-binding sites
   • D. Without ATP, myosin heads cannot detach from actin, so cross-bridges stay locked (correct)

   ATP is needed to release myosin from actin, and after death ATP runs out while calcium leaks into the cytoplasm, so cross-bridges remain attached. Troponin does not cover the binding sites because calcium is present, which makes option C wrong.

7. 07Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyWhich movement of the small intestine mixes chyme with digestive juices through localized contractions of circular muscle, without propelling the contents far along the tract?+−

   • A. Segmentation (correct)
   • B. Peristalsis
   • C. Mass movement
   • D. Deglutition

   Segmentation squeezes short sections of intestine back and forth, which mixes chyme and exposes it to the mucosa. Peristalsis is tempting but moves contents forward in coordinated waves.

8. 08Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyA human somatic cell contains 46 chromosomes during G1 of the cell cycle. After S phase is complete and the cell is in G2, how many chromatids are in its nucleus?+−

   Answer: 92 chromatids

   During S phase each chromosome is replicated into two sister chromatids. The chromosome number stays at 46, but 46 x 2 gives 92 chromatids. Answering 46 confuses chromosome count with chromatid count.

9. 09Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyName the hormone released from the posterior pituitary that stimulates both uterine contractions during labor and milk ejection during breastfeeding.+−

   Answer: oxytocin

   Oxytocin, stored and released by the posterior pituitary, causes contraction of uterine smooth muscle and of the myoepithelial cells around the mammary alveoli.

10. 10Science · Human Anatomy and PhysiologyFurosemide blocks the Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporter in the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. Which is the expected effect on urine?+−

    • A. Urine volume increases and the urine is less concentrated than usual because the medullary osmotic gradient is reduced. (correct)
    • B. Urine volume increases and the urine is more concentrated because more solute reaches the collecting duct.
    • C. Urine volume decreases because sodium retained in the blood holds water in the vessels.
    • D. Urine volume is unchanged because ADH in the collecting duct fully compensates.

    Blocking salt transport out of the ascending limb keeps NaCl in the filtrate and prevents the medullary interstitium from becoming strongly hypertonic, so less water can be reabsorbed in the collecting duct and urine is abundant and dilute. Option B is tempting because more solute is delivered, but the lost gradient is what limits concentration.

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Sources

1. ATI: ATI TEAS exam details (sections, questions, sub-areas)

Updated November 6, 2026