Foundations - Practice Test A

Question
1. The incubation period for Hepatitis B is
a) 4 to 6 weeks
b) three years
c) one year
d) 50 to 80 days

Answer
D

2. A pregnant woman has prolonged labor with malposition of the fetus, sharp pain in the
abdomen, scanty dark and red bleeding, dark complexion. The tongue is dark. The pulse
is deep and forceful. What is the pattern?
a) Deficient Qi and Stagnant Blood
b) Stagnant Qi and Blood
c) Deficient Blood and Stagnant Qi
d) Hot Blood and Stagnant Qi

3. A 44 year-old male has sinusitis and insomnia as the main complaints. He wakes up
during the night and talks in his sleep. He has a sticky and yellow nasal discharge,
impaired sense of smell, frontal headaches, blurred vision, irritability, sticky taste in mouth,
red cheeks, dry lips, feeling of heat, sensation of oppression in chest, sore and dry eyes,
sensation of heaviness in head, dry skin and dry hair. The tongue is red with no coating in
the front and sticky-yellow coating in the center. The pulse is slippery and floating-empty.
What are the patterns?
a) Liver Yin Deficiency; Stomach and Spleen Damp-Heat
b) Liver Phlegm-Fire; Deficient Liver Blood; Spleen Dampness
c) Empty Fire; Hot Phlegm; Deficient Blood
d) Liver and Gall Bladder Fire; Liver Yin Deficiency

4. A 25 year-old female has mental confusion, poor appetite, blurred vision, agitation, scanty
menses, thirsty but drinks in small sips, depression, dizziness, numbness, nausea, rash
behavior, muscle spasms, loose stools with offensive odor, brittle nails, scanty-dark urine,
insomnia, and low-grade fever. The tongue is red with sticky-yellow coating. The pulse is
slippery, fast, and choppy. What are the patterns?
a) Spleen Damp-Heat; Heart Phlegm-Fire; Deficient Liver Blood
b) Deficient Heart Blood; Liver Wind Agitating; Damp-Heat in Intestines
c) Liver Fire Blazing; Heart Fire Blazing; Spleen Damp-Heat
d) Heart Fire Blazing; Damp-Heat in Intestines; Deficient Spleen Qi

5. A 17 year-old had the flu six months ago. He was given antibiotics which did not help his
condition. He developed a mouth ulcer as a result of the antibiotics. His contemporary
symptoms include dry throat and mouth, hypochondrial pain, thirst, dry stools, epigastric
pain, and a feeling of fullness after eating. Sometimes he feels hot and sometimes he

Foundations Test A Pg 1 of 17

Question
feels cold. The tongue is red and peeled in the center. The pulse is wiry (xuan mai) on the
left and floating (fu mai) and empty (xu mai) on the right middle position. What is the
diagnosis?
a) Damp-Heat Invades Spleen
b) Liver Fire Blazing
c) Shao Yang Syndrome, Stomach Yin Deficiency
d) Liver Yang Rising

Answer

6. All of the following describe the soggy pulse except

a) soft like wet cotton wool
b) floating
c) broken into many tiny dots
d) dissapears with pressure

7. In comparing an Intermittent Pulse (Dai Mai) with a Knotted pulse (Jie Mai) which is true?
a) A Knotted Pulse (Jie Mai) is slow while an Intermittent Pulse (Dai Mai) is fast
b) A Knotted Pulse (Jie Mai) is fast while an Intermittent Pulse (Dai Mai) is slow
c) A Knotted Pulse (Jie Mai) is slow while an Intermittent Pulse (Dai Mai) is neither
slow nor fast
d) Both pulses are slow

8. Which two main channels have epistaxis as part of their symptom pattern?
a) Large Intestine and Lung
b) Large Intestine and Stomach
c) Lung and Stomach
d) Triple Burner and Pericarium

9. A True Qi takes the form of

a) Original Qi (yuan qi) and Essence (jing)
b) Qi and Blood
c) Food Qi and Air Qi
d) Nutritive Qi (ying qi) and Defensive Qi (wei qi)

10. Nutritive Qi (ying qi) helps to transform

a) Original Qi (yuan qi) to Essence (jing)
b) Blood into Qi
c) Essence (jing) to Original Qi (yuan qi)
d) Purest part of food to Blood

11. Pathological symptoms associated with the Primary and Luo-Connecting channels will
often appear as manifestations on the
a) Head
b) Related cutaneous regions
c) The feet and hands
d) The chest

12. In comparing a Knotted Pulse (Jie Mai), a Hasty Pulse (Cu Mai) and a Choppy Pulse (Se

Foundations Test A Pg 2 of 17

Question
Mai) which of the following is true?
a) All three pulses have an abnormal pulse rate
b) All three pulses are thin
c) All three pulses stop at regular intervals
d) All three pulses are fast choose

Answer

13. After giving birth, a woman has no breast milk, depression, chest distress with distending
breast pain. The tongue is normal. The pulse is wiry. What is the diagnosis?
a) Liver Stagnant Qi and Blood
b) Liver Qi Stagnation
c) Liver Invading Spleen
d) Liver Invading Stomach

14. A 39 year-old female has abundant menstrual bleeding with sticky blood and a yellowbrown discharge before the bleeding starts. No clots are present. There are vaginal
discharges. She has difficult urination, burning pain when urinates, blood in the urine, and
fullness and pain in the hypogastrium. She has abdominal pain which worsens with
pressure and after eating, with fullness in the abdomen. She has reddish eruptions on the
elbows and knees. There is acid reflux in the esophagus and diarrhea which relieves the
abdominal pain. The tongue is red with sticky yellow coating. The pulse is slippery, full,
and fast. What are the patterns?
a) Hot Blood; Spleen Not Holding Blood; Hot Phlegm
b) Spleen not Holding Blood; Bladder Damp-Heat; Rebellious Stomach Qi
c) Bladder Damp-Heat; Spleen Damp-Heat; Stomach Heat
d) Blood Heat; Damp-Heat in uterus; Retention of Food

15. In Shiatsu which of the following is an example of a tonifying touch technique

a) Percussion
b) Penetration with stillness
c) Kenbiki
d) Stretches and rotations

16. null for some reason

17. null for some reason

X
X

18. A 35 year-old woman has had dysmenorrhea since her first period. The pain occurs during
the menstrual flow. The blood is dark with clots. The pain improves with a hot water bottle.
She has vaginal itching with a yellow and sticky discharge. She has a slight sensation of
heat which lasts throughout the day, and offensive smelling stools. The tongue has a
purplish tinge with greasy yellow coating. The pulse is choppy (se mai), wiry (xuan mai)
and slippery (hua mai). What is the treatment plan?
a) Disperse Liver, Move Blood, Resolve Dampness, Clear Heat
b) Disperse Liver and Gall Bladder, Resolve Dampness, Clear Heat
c) Remove Blood Stasis, Warm Uterus
d) Disperse Liver, Regulate Qi, Tonify Spleen

Foundations Test A Pg 3 of 17

Question

Answer

19. When performing Gua Sha

a) it is not necessary to glove the hands
b) it is necessary to glove hands on patients with bleeding disorders
c) you glove both hands
d) you glove the hand doing the scraping

20. Your patient has painful urination. Excess eating of greasy and dairy products can
aggravate which type?
a) Bloody type Painful-Urination Syndrome
b) Cloudy type Painful-Urination Syndrome
c) Cold type Painful-Urination Syndrome
d) Hot type Painful-UrinationSyndrome

21. In examining the tongue you notice dark-purple sublingual veins which can indicate
a. hardening of the arteries and heart disease
b. hardening of arteries and hypertension
c. hardening of the brain arteries
d. dampness and blood stasis

22. A 43 year-old woman has pre-menstrual tension. Symptoms include depression, irritability,
and vertex headache. Period is regular, scanty, and not painful. General symptoms
include back pain, constipation, dry mouth in the evening, dry hair, sore eyes and blurry
vision. The tongue is a little red and without coating. The pulse is weak (xu mai) especially
in the left rear position. What is the diagnosis?
a. Stagnant Liver Qi, Deficient Heart Blood
b. Deficient Kidney Essence
c. Stagnant Liver Qi, Deficient Liver and Kidney Yin
d. Deficient Kidney Yin, Empty Fire

23. The pathways of the cutaneous regions are associated with the
a. Sinew and Divergent channels
b. Primary and Luo-Connecting Channels
c. Extraordinary channels
d. The great Luo-Connecting channel of the Spleen

24. A patient has dry stools which are difficult to pass, dry mouth and throat, and a thin body.
What tongue is expected?
a. Pale or red dry tongue without coating
b. Pale tongue
c. Thick-white coating
d. Red tongue, greasy-yellow coating

25. A patient has hypogastric pain which is dull and comes towards the end of her period.
There is a dragging sensation in the lower abdomen, pain that improves with pressure,
scanty bleeding, a pale complexion, tiredness, slight dizziness and loose stools. What is
the diagnosis?
a. Spleen Qi Deficiency

Foundations Test A Pg 4 of 17

Question
b. Qi and Blood Deficiency
c. Deficient Qi with Empty Cold
d. Kidney Yang Deficiency

Answer

26. A 42 year-old patient has periumbilical palpitations followed by an upsurging of qi from the
abdomen to the sternum when the patient becomes upset. Other symptoms include cold
limbs and body when the patient is nervous and restoration of the heat in the limbs when
the patient is relaxed and at ease. The tongue has white, slimy tongue fur. The pulse is
bowstring that tends to be hooked. What is the treatment principle?
a. Course the liver and rectify qi, harmonize the stomach and downbear Counterflow
b. Course the liver and rectify the qi
c. Level the liver and downbear counterflow
d. Course the liver and resolve depression, fortify spleen and harmonize the
constructive

27. Which of the following is not a Yin symptom?

a. Degenerative disease
b. Excessive moisture
c. Clear and copious Secretions
d. Inflammatory disease

28. Which is a firm pulse?

a. pulse is hard and feels like a rope being twisted
b. pulse near the bone and difficult to feel
c. pulse felt at deep level and wiry
d. pulse is sunken and underneath the muscle and easy to feel

29. In assessing sores which of the following indicates the formation of pus?
a. No sweating
b. Tidal fever and night sweating
c. Sweat that emerges when the fever does not recede
d. Sweat that emerges while the fever is retreating

30. If after rubbing the index finger of an infant, venules appear just beyond the second gate,
this indicates
a. healthy condition
b. life threatening disease
c. interior disorder
d. exterior pathogenic factor

31. What does a light red tongue with dry yellow moss tend to signify?
a. Deficient Blood and Deficient Qi
b. Dry Stomach and Intestines; Damp-Heat
c. Stagnant Food; and Damp-Heat
d. Chronic condition drying up Blood and Fluids; Dry Stomach and Intestines

32. Which of the following is not an example of a cross-infection?

Foundations Test A Pg 5 of 17

Question
a.
b.
c.
d.

Answer
HRT
TB
HIV
HBV

33. A patient has suffocating feeling and distending pain in the epigastric area, belching, and
insomnia. The pulse is slippery. What is the diagnosis?
a. Deficient Spleen Qi with Accumulation of Phlegm
b. Damp Obstructing Middle Burner
c. Rebellious Stomach Qi with Deficient Heart Blood
d. Retention of Food

34. A 35 year-old female has had depression and anxiety for 12 years. She is on
antidepressants. She had an unhappy childhood and to this day has resentment toward
her mother. Her sleep is restless. Other symptoms include headaches with stabbing pain
on the forehead. She tends to have nasal discharge with thick yellow phlegm. She has a
burning sensation in the epigastrium with thirst. The tongue is red with a purplish tinge
and a crack in the center. The coating is greasy and yellow. The pulse is slippery (hua
mai), wiry (xuan mai) and full (shi mai). What is the treatment plan?
a. Clear Stomach Heat, Descend Stomach Qi, Resolve Phlegm
b. Regulate Liver, Smooth Qi, Move Blood
c. Disperse Liver and Gall Bladder, Resolve Phlegm, Clear Heat
d. Resolve Phlegm, Drain Fire, Move Blood, Calm the Mind

35. A patient has abdominal pain, diarrhea with mucous and blood, foul smelling stools,
burning anus, fever, sweating does not abate fever, and thirst without desire to drink. What
pulse is expected?
a. Slippery pulse, fast pulse
b. Thin pulse
c. Deep pulse, full pulse, big Pulse
d. Full pulse, fast pulse

36. A female patient has low back pain, feels chilly, has frequent clear urination, wants to lie
down and be covered, and has sharp and fixed stabbing pain in the lower abdomen with
menstruation of dark purplish clots. After a month, she returns and also complains of new
symptoms of dryness. What is the root (ben) for the dryness symptoms?
a. Sharp-fixed stabbing menstrual pain
b. Stagnant Blood
c. Low back pain, feels chilly, frequent clear urination
d. Kidney Yang Deficiency

37. The lower abdominal pain of a patient who has tidal fever after noon, somewhat scanty,
fresh red menses that drips for several days, and no lower back pain would be expected
to be?
a. pain that refuses pressure before or during menstruation
b. dull after menses
c. pain that prefers warmth
d. cold pain after menses

Foundations Test A Pg 6 of 17

Question

Answer

38. A 39 year-old woman has abdominal distention. She feels tired and weak and has dry
eyes and blurry vision. She has poor appetite, cold limbs, generalize edema, scanty urine
and thirst. Her abdomen is ballooned with distention. She has painful and hard nodules
below the costal regions. Her appetite is poor and has general malaise. She has
distention in the hypochondrium. The tongue is swollen with tooth marks. The pulse is
deep and slippery. What is the diagnosis?
a. Stagnant Liver Qi Invading Spleen leading to Deficient Blood
b. Cold in the Intestines with Spleen Deficient Yang
c. Liver Blood Deficiency, Liver Stagnant Qi and Blood, Kidney and Spleen Yang
Deficiency
d. Kidney and Spleen Yang Deficiency with Accumulation of Dampness

39. A patient has a sporadic cough which is productive with thick-white phlegm, shortness of
breath, weak voice, tiredness, loose stools, and poor appetite. Which of the following
actions would you take?
a. Tonify Deficient Spleen and Lung Qi and Transform Phlegm
b. Transform Phlegm
c. Transform Phlegm first and then Tonify Deficient Spleen and Lung Qi
d. Tonify Deficient Spleen and Lung Qi

40. People who have a strong prenatal constitution have all of the following characteristics
except:
a. long philtrum
b. long ears and ear lobes
c. broad forehead and glabella
d. the nose is turned up and exposed

41. In Akabane diagnosis you are looking for which patient response?
a. the number of times an incense stick is run across the jing well points before the
skin sweats
b. the number of times an incense stick is run across the jing well points before the
patient feels the heat
c. the number of times an incense stick is run across the jing well points before the
skin becomes red
d. the number of times an incense stick is run across the jing well points before the
patient feels pain

42. Which tongue has a red body and a thick-yellow coat?

a. Wei level
b. Qi level
c. Ying level
d. Xue level

43. Yesterday a patient had tidal fever, dry stools, abdominal pain worse with pressure,
yellow-dry tongue coating, and strong pulse. Today the symptoms include confusion,

Foundations Test A Pg 7 of 17

Question
irritability, insomnia, and mental agitation. What is your assessment?
a. Ying stage progressing to Xue stage
b. Ying stage
c. Qi stage
d. Qi stage progressing to Ying stage

Answer

44. A patient has high-fever, profuse sweating, intense thirst, red face, a feeling of heat,
irritability, delirium, red tongue with yellow coating, and big-fast pulse. What is the stage?
a. Bright-Yang (yang ming)
b. Lesser-Yang (shao yang)
c. Greater-Yin (tai yin)
d. Greater-Yang (tai yang)

45. Yesterday a patient had tidal fever, dry stools, abdominal pain worse with pressure,
yellow-dry tongue coating, and strong pulse. Today the symptoms include confusion,
irritability, insomnia, and mental agitation. What is your assessment?
a. Ying stage progressing to Xue stage
b. Qi stage
c. Ying stage
d. Qi stage progressing to Ying stage

46. A patient has dysmenorrhea with pain in the lower abdomen that starts prior to
menstruation, scanty and dark purple menses with clots, and distending breast pain. The
tongue has a purplish color. The pulse is deep and wiry. What is the diagnosis?
a. Stagnant Liver Qi transforming to Fire
b. Cold Stagnating Blood
c. Stagnant Liver Qi
d. Deficient Spleen Qi with Stagnant Blood
47. According to the Five Element basic qualities in the "Shang Shu"
a. Wood is sour, Metal is sweet, Earth is pungent
b. Fire flares outward, Wood feeds fire, Metal can be molded and can harden
c. Water moistens outward, Metal can be melted, Earth is for building
d. Water moistens downward, Fire flares upward, Wood can be bent and
straightened

48. Loose stools, edema, and weak limbs is diagnosed as

a. Water over-acting on Fire
b. Water insulting Earth
c. Earth insulting Wood
d. Fire not generating Earth

49. A patient has irregular menstruation with scanty, light red blood flow, dizziness, tinnitus
and weak back. The tongue is pale with thin coating. The pulse is deep and weak. What is
the diagnosis?
a. Deficient Spleen Qi
b. Deficient Blood
c. Deficient Kidney Qi
d. Deficient Liver Blood

Foundations Test A Pg 8 of 17

Question

Answer

50. A 43 year-old women has had Parkinson's disease for five years. The main complaint was
trembling of the left hand. Other symptoms included tiredness and blurry vision. The
tongue is pale. The pulse is choppy (se mai). What is the diagnosis?
a. Liver Yang Rising Causing Wind
b. Heat Generating Wind
c. External Wind lodged in Meridians
d. Liver Blood Deficiency Generating Wind

51. A 24 year-old woman has allergic rhinitis for the past three years. The rhinitis is
aggravated with smells. Symptoms include itchy nose and frequent sneezing. She has a
cold sensation in her upper back. She has an obstructed nose with a thin and white
discharge. She has general weakness and spontaneous sweating. She is irritated that she
has to deal with this problem. The tongue is pale with thin white coating. The pulse is thin
and frail. What is the diagnosis?
a. Liver Insulting Lungs
b. Deficient Lung Qi
c. Cold Obstructing Zong Qi
d. Wind-Cold Invading Lungs

52. A patient has a sore throat which is congested with an abrupt onset, fever, dysphagia, and
constipation. The tongue is red with thin yellow coating. The pulse is floating and fast.
What is the diagnosis?
a. Toxic Heat
b. Lung Phlegm-Heat lodged in throat
c. Wind-Cold transforming to Heat
d. Excess Heat

53. A 27 year-old patient has the following symptoms: Irritability, mental depression, chest, rib,
breast, and abdominal distention or oppression, sighing, dysmenorrhea, and irregular
menstruation. The tongue is normal with thin, white fur. The pulse is bowstring. What is
the treatment principle?
a. Course the liver and rectify the qi
b. Course the liver and rectify qi, harmonize the stomach and downbear counterflow
c. Level the liver and downbear counterflow
d. Course the liver and resolve depression, fortify spleen and harmonize the
constructive

54. A patient has meningitis with high fever, confusion, mental agitation, body hot but hands
feel cold, not talking, and deep red tongue. What is your assessment?
a. Xue stage
b. Wei stage

Foundations Test A Pg 9 of 17

Question
c. Ying stage
d. Qi stage
55. The most difficult type of Painful-Urination syndrome to treat is the
a. Damp-Heat type
b. Stone type
c. Qi Deficiency type
d. Stagnant Qi type

Answer

56. If an organ is diseased, one should avoid the taste related to the Element that controls
that element along the
a. Seasonal sequence
b. Controlling sequence
c. Generating sequence
d. Over-Acting sequence

57. In assessing a sore which of the following is a favorable sign?

a. The mouth of the sore does not close for a long time and the face of the sore has
no sensation of pain or itching
b. During the discharge the pus is fluid, thick, yellow and white with a slightly fishy
smell
c. After ulceration the skin and flesh become hard and there is no pus with
occasional discharge of thin clear pus with a foul smell
d. When the pus is formed the sore becomes swollen, hard and dark purple and
there is no sloughing or discharge of pus and the sore gradually sinks inward
58. When referring a patient to another doctor you need to communicate to both the patient
and the doctor any of the following possible situations except?
a. you are only seeking a 2nd opinion and that the patient is to return afterwards
b. you want to shift the malpractice risk
c. the patient is to return only after having received treatment from the other doctor
d. you are transferring all care to the other physician

59. Which level has big-rapid, deep-full-rapid or slippery-rapid pulse?

a. Nutritive-Qi level (ying)
b. Blood level (xue)
c. Qi level (qi)
d. Defensive-Qi level (wei)

60. Which Luo-Connecting channel treats genital itching and impotence?

a. Kidney Luo-Connecting channel
b. Spleen Luo-Connecting channel
c. Bladder Luo-Connecting channel
d. Liver Luo-Connecting channel

61. Which is sweet and warm and enters the Spleen and Kidney channels?
a. chicken
b. beef
c. pork
d. mutton

Foundations Test A Pg 10 of 17

Question

Answer

62. A patient has breathlessness, asthma, fullness in the hypochondriac area, headache, and
wiry pulse. What is the diagnosis?
a. Liver Fire Insulting the Lungs
b. Stagnation of Cold in the Liver Channel
c. Liver Invading the Stomach
d. Liver Invading Spleen

63. What does a practitioner often use to take the pulse of a child?
a. Index and middle fingers
b. Index finger
c. Index, middle, and ring fingers
d. Thumb

64. Which of the following do not exhibit excess yang leading to deficient yin?
a. Excessive consumption of alcohol leading to a hang over
b. Exterior cold leading to internal heat
c. Excessive worry leading to weakness and fatigue
d. Excessive jogging leading to a very slow pulse

65. A patient has enuresis due to damp-heat. Which foods would you recommend?
a. red bean soup with soy beans seasoned with salt
b. thick mutton soup
c. black bean soup with low alcohol wine
d. carp soup with spring onion

66. In dealing with clinical emergencies in your office, which of the following is false?
a. Provider is not liable because of the Good Samaritan laws
b. Provider is liable for sub-standard medical response in the clinic
c. Provider is liable for equipment incorrectly used in office emergencies
d. Provider must use discretion in defining the limits of response in the office

67. You are treating a patient who is pregnant. Which of the following B vitamins would you
recommend that she take?
a. Vitamin B5
b. Vitamin B1
c. Vitamin B9
d. Vitamin B12

68. You are treating a politician for substance abuse. The local newspaper calls you to confirm
whether she is a patient being treated for substance abuse. What would you do?
a. Refuse to deny or confirm that the person is a patient
b. State that she is a patient but cannot divulge the reasons for seeing you
c. Confirm that she is a patient being treated for a cocaine problem
d. Deny that she is a patient

Foundations Test A Pg 11 of 17

Question
69. The incubation period for AIDS is up to
a. 1 month
b. 10 years
c. 1 year
d. 5 years

Answer
B

70. A patient has difficult and hesitant urination with fullness and pain in the lower abdomen.
The tongue has a thin and white coating. The pulse is deep and wiry. What is the
diagnosis?
a. Stagnant Liver Qi
b. Damage of Bladder Meridian Qi
c. Damp-Heat Flowing Downward
d. Cold-Damp Obstructing Bladder

71. A 35 year-old man has had hand tremors. He has been diagnosed with Parkinson's
disease. The tremors are worse when reaching for things and disappear while sleeping.
He has a sallow complexion. Other symptoms include a weak voice and dry skin. He
catches colds easily. The tongue is pale. The pulse is weak. What is the diagnosis?
a. Deficient Liver Blood Causing Wind
b. Liver Yang Rising Causing Wind
c. External Wind Affecting the Interior
d. Dryness Stirring Wind

72. You observe that your patient has wide teeth, pointed small head, well-developed
shoulder muscles, curly hair or not much hair, small hands and feet, and brisk walking.
This is a
a. fire type
b. earth type
c. water type
d. wood type

73. Which statement is true?

a. State privacy/security laws supercede HIPAA laws if state laws are Stricter
b. HIPAA laws always take precedence
c. Whether state laws supercede HIPAA laws varies from state to state
d. Which law takes precedence is still under appeal

74. The clinical applications for the yin qiao mai (yin stepping vessel) are
a. Intermittent fevers; Sides of body; Ear problems
b. Extinguishes interior wind; Expels exterior wind; Nourishes brain and marrow;
Strengthens the back; Tonifies Kidney yang
c. Headaches; Mental-emotional problems; Nourishes yin and blood

Foundations Test A Pg 12 of 17

Question
d. Abdominal pain; Painful red eyes; Sleep; Atrophy Syndrome

Answer

75. A patient has delayed menstruation, vaginal discharge, and infertility due to yang vacuity.
What tongue do you expect to see?
a. Green-blue purple tongue with dots
b. Puffy and enlarged tongue with teethmarks
c. Pale and lusterless tongue
d. Pale purple glossy tongue

76. A 30 year-old woman was diagnosed with myalgic encephalitis two years ago. It began
after she had the flu. At that time she felt exhausted and could hardly stand up. She did
not fully recover and continues to experience exhaustion, and general flu-like symptoms
such as shivering and achy muscles. Her fatigue is worse with exercise. She has poor
memory and her head feels like she has cotton balls in it. She sweats easily after even a
short walk. Her appetite is poor and she has abdominal distention. The tongue is pale and
swollen with a crack in the center part. The pulse is weak (xu mai) and minute (wei mai)
especially in the front position. What is the diagnosis?
a. Wind-Cold Invades Lungs
b. Accumulation of Dampness
c. Deficient Lung Qi, Deficient Spleen Qi
d. Deficient Wei Qi, Deficient Blood

77. A 72 year-old woman is bedridden. She complains of constipation having a BM every 3-5
days. She has to strain even when she has the urge to have a BM. She has low energy,
sweats easily after exertion, has shortness of breath, and weak legs and arms. She has a
pale complexion with pale lips. The tongue is pale with thin coating. The pulse is deep,
thin, and weak. What is the diagnosis?
a. Deficient Yang
b. Deficient Qi and Blood
c. Cold Obstructing Intestines
d. Deficient Yin

78. pregnant woman patient has morning sickness with nausea and vomiting of undigested
food right after eating, sleepiness, and lassitude. The tongue is pale with white coating.
The pulse is slippery and weak. What is the pattern?
a. Deficient Qi of Spleen and Stomach
b. Rebellious Stomach Qi
c. Stagnant Liver Qi Invading Stomach

Foundations Test A Pg 13 of 17

Question
d. Deficient Qi and Blood

Answer

79. Which of the following lip colors correspond to the INCORRECT symptom
a. Purple or bluish/ stasis of blood
b. Greenish color around mouth/ stasis of Liver Blood
c. Overly red and dry/ Heat in the Spleen and Stomach
d. Very pale/ Excess Yang

80. A patient has a feeling of cold, cold limbs, bright-white complexion, profuse sweating on
the forehead, listlessness, a pale-swollen and short tongue, and hidden-slow-scattered
pulse. What is the level?
a. Defensive-Qi level (wei)
b. Qi level (qi)
c. Only Nutritive-Qi level (ying)
d. Blood level (xue)

81. A 27 year-old male has had tinnitus for two years. The sound is high pitched. It is better
with rest and worse with stress. The tongue is red with a yellow coating. The pulse is full
(shi mai) and wiry (xuan mai) and especially weak (xu mai) in the rear positions. What is
the diagnosis?
a. Liver and Gall Bladder Fire Blazing Upwards, Kidney Yin Deficiency
b. Deficient Kidney Essence
c. Deficient Kidney Yin with Empty Fire
d. Deficient Kidney Qi

82. Our capacity for hard work and skilled, delicate activities are influenced by the
a. Kidneys
b. Lungs
c. Liver
d. Heart

83. A patient has high-fever, profuse sweating, intense thirst, red face, a feeling of heat,
irritability, delirium, red tongue with yellow coating, and big-fast pulse. What is the stage?
a. Bright-Yang (yang ming)
b. Lesser-Yang (shao yang)
c. Greater-Yang (taiyang)
d. Greater-Yin (tai yin)

84. Three years ago a 55 year-old woman had a kidney infection. Her diagnosis was
pyelonephritis. Since then she has had headaches. The head pain is on the back of the
neck, top of head, and eyes. She tends to be constipated. The urine is dark and scanty.
She has night sweats and back pain. The tongue is a little red with a very thick-yellow
coating at the root. The pulse is thin and slightly wiry (xuan mai) in both the rear positions.
What is the treatment plan?
a. Nourish Kidney Yin, Subdue Empty Fire
b. Tonify Kidney Qi
c. First Resolve Damp-Heat then Nourish Kidney Yin

Foundations Test A Pg 14 of 17

Question
d. Nourish Kidney Yin, Resolve Dampness, Clear Heat

Answer

85. Which of the following solutions is not recommended to clean office surfaces and
equipment?
a. Microquat
b. Windex
c. Lysol
d. Clorox

86. A patient has irritability, hypochondriac pain, and every other period has menstrual blood
with clots. Which of the following actions would you take?
a. Move the Stagnant Blood
b. Move the Liver Qi
c. Move the Stagnant Blood first and then the Stagnant Liver Qi
d. Move the Stagnant Liver Qi first and then the Stagnant Blood second
87. At the Defensive-Qi level (wei) which pattern can have only a thin-white tongue coating?
a. wind-heat
b. summer-heat
c. damp-heat
d. dry-heat

88. All of the following describe the choppy pulse except

a. very fine and almost blurred
b. rough, jagged, and short
c. without a wave
d. changes rate frequently

89. A 20 year-old female has chronic migraines. The pain is on the side of the head and
behind the eyes. The pain is stabbing and severe. There is diarrhea and nausea with her
headaches. Her periods are scanty. The tongue is pale and slightly purplish. The pulse is
deep and minute. What is the treatment plan?
a. Disperse Liver and Gall Bladder, Clear Heat
b. Regulate Shao Yang Meridians
c. Clear Stomach Heat, Descend Stomach Qi, Move Blood
d. Subdue Liver Yang, Nourish Liver Blood, Move Blood

90. A 72 year-old female has had breathlessness worse with exertion for 5 years. She has a
history of TB of the lungs. She currently feels exhausted, coughs up blood tinged sputum.
She is sensitive to cold which immediately affects her chest and causes bronchitis with
profuse yellow-green sputum. She has night sweats, dry throat, and a feeling of heat in
the afternoon. She is overweight. The tongue is slightly red, swollen, and with a rootless
coating in the front part. The pulse is slippery. What are the patterns?
a. Lung Yin Xu; Spleen Qi xu causing Phlegm
b. Lung Heat; Deficient Kidney Yin; Empty Fire
c. Wind-Cold; Lung Yin Xu; Spleen Qi Xu
d. Kidney Yin Xu; Lung Dryness; Phlegm

91. A patient has excess menstrual bleeding with sudden flooding outside of the time of her

Foundations Test A Pg 15 of 17

Question
period. She can also have a trickle for many days after the period with the blood being
fresh-red and rather watery. She has mental restlessness, feeling of heat in the evening,
malar flush, scanty-dark urine, and dry stools. The tongue is red without coating, and the
pulse is floating-empty. What is the diagnosis?
a. Stagnant Liver Qi transforming to Heat
b. Blood Empty-Heat
c. Hot Blood
d. Damp-Heat in the lower burner

Answer

92. In observing a child, breathing that is hasty, discontinuous, or accompanied with the
flaring of nostrils usually indicates
a. vacuity and weak lung qi
b. phlegm-heat congesting lungs
c. spleen damp-heat
d. whooping cough

93. A patient has sharp and stabbing pains in the epigastrium which are worse with heat,
pressure and after eating, vomiting dark blood, and blood in the stools. What pulse is
expected?
a. Floating and empty pulse in the right middle position
b. Deep pulse
c. Wiry pulse or choppy pulse
d. Full pulse or slippery pulse

94. Do state licensing bodies have a right to medical records to assess charting and care?
a. False in all states
b. Determined on a case by case basis
c. True in all States
d. True in some states

95. A patient has light red rashes and heavy sensations in the body. The tongue coating is
white and sticky. What is the diagnosis?
a. Heat in Blood
b. Wind-Damp
c. Deficient Spleen Qi with Damp Accumulation
d. Wind-Heat

96. How long can Hepatitis B survive on a surface at room temperature?

a. Three weeks
b. One week
c. Three days
d. One day

97. A patient has Kidney Yang Deficiency and develops anemia. Which of the following is

Foundations Test A Pg 16 of 17

Question
applicable?
a. Yang damages Yin
b. Yin transforms into Yang
c. Yin damages Yang
d. Yang transforms into Yin

Answer

98. Which of the following types of asthma can take a long time to treat?
a. Wind-Cold
b. Wind-Heat
c. Phlegm obstructing Lungs
d. Allergic asthma
99. A patient has cloudy urine with a milky appearance and burning urination. The tongue has
sticky coating. The pulse is thin and fast. What is the diagnosis?
a. Accumulation of Heat in the Bladder
b. Bladder Damp-Heat
c. Stagnant Damp-Heat with Deficient Kidney Yin
d. Stagnant Liver Qi Transforming to Fire

100. A patient has abundant bleeding during mid-cycle. The blood is sticky and has no
clots. She has a yellow-brown discharge before the bleeding starts. She has a feeling of
heaviness and a dragging sensation in the lower abdomen. She has a feeling of
oppression of the chest, irritability, scanty-dark urine, burning urination. The tongue is
sticky-yellow and the pulse is slippery. What is the diagnosis?
a. Spleen Deficiency with dampness in the lower burner
b. Blood Empty-Heat
c. Hot Blood
d. Damp-Heat in the uterus

Foundations Test A Pg 17 of 17