Health Promotion and MaintenanceQuestion 315 of 2368
A new nurse asks why bowel sounds are not counted during abdominal auscultation. Which response by the nurse is correct?
- Bowel sounds are too soft to be counted reliably with a stethoscope.
- Bowel sounds are heard only in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen.
- Counting is done only by advanced practice providers, not by nurses.
- Normal bowel sounds can cycle with peaks as far apart as 50 to 60 minutes.
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Correct answer: Normal bowel sounds can cycle with peaks as far apart as 50 to 60 minutes.
Bowel sound activity cycles over long periods, so a short count would be misleading. The nurse describes the sounds instead.
Source: Nursing Skills, 2nd edition (Open RN, Chippewa Valley Technical College, 2023), Abdominal Assessment: Auscultation. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Practice the topic "Health Promotion and Maintenance"Questions last reviewed: 18 October 2026