NACA Animal Control Officers Practice Test

Which condition is associated with stertor or snoring?

1. Asthma

2. Laryngeal Paralysis

3. Wheezing

4. Pneumonia

The correct answer is: Laryngeal Paralysis

Stertor, often described as a snoring sound during breathing, is typically associated with obstructions or disturbances in the upper airway. Laryngeal paralysis specifically involves the inability of the laryngeal muscles to function normally, leading to the collapse of the larynx during inhalation. This condition can cause airway obstruction and result in the characteristic stertor sound. In the context of the other choices, asthma is primarily associated with wheezing, which is a high-pitched sound caused by bronchial constriction. Wheezing signifies issues within the lower airways rather than the upper airway where stertor originates. Pneumonia involves inflammation of the lungs and can lead to different types of abnormal lung sounds, but stertor would not be a typical characteristic. While laryngeal obstruction might sometimes involve underlying infections leading to pneumonia, the direct causal relationship in producing stertor is more accurately represented by laryngeal paralysis over pneumonia. Thus, understanding the pathophysiology behind these conditions helps clarify why laryngeal paralysis is directly linked to the production of stertor or snoring sounds during respiration.