A man awakens with a headache and vision loss. His regular doctor sends him to an ophthalmologist to address the vision loss. The ophthalmologist recognizes a greater problem and immediately sends him to the emergency room. Once there, the patient undergoes a battery of tests, but a definite cause of the vision loss cannot be found. A specialist recognizes the problem as meningitis, but the question is what caused it originally. How can that be cured? The loss of vision comes from swelling around the optic nerve, which probably presented as a bulge on the inside of the eye. Why is swelling related to meningitis going to push on the optic nerve?

Mr. wayne is a 38-year-old man with a significant history of elevated cholesterol levels. his father died at age 42 from a massive heart attack secondary to elevated cholesterol and triglycerides, and two of his older siblings are currently taking medications to lower their cholesterol levels. mr. wayne makes an appointment to discuss his risk for hypercholesterolemia. the nurse recognizes that mr. wayne is at risk for familial hypercholesterolemia because this is an autoomal dominant inherited condition. a. describe the pattern of autosomal dominant inheritance. b. mr. wayne asks what chance his children have of developing familial hypercholesterolemia. how should the nurse respond? c. explain the phenomenon of penetrance observed in autosomal dominant inheritance.