Free HESI A2 Anatomy & Physiology practice test
20 original Anatomy & Physiology questions on terminology, tissues, mitosis and meiosis, skin, skeletal system, muscular system, nervous system, endocrine system, circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system, reproductive system.
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HESI A2 Anatomy & Physiology practice test
- 20 questions
- Anatomy & Physiology
- 17 min in exam mode
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Questions are original practice items written to the published exam content, not real exam questions.
Which tissue type covers body surfaces, lines body cavities and passageways, and forms glands?
Correct answer: B
Epithelial tissue covers surfaces (such as the epidermis), lines cavities and passageways (such as the gut and airways), and forms both exocrine and endocrine glands. Its cells are tightly packed on a basement membrane and it has no blood vessels of its own. Connective tissue, in contrast, supports and binds other tissues.
- A Connective tissue binds, supports and protects other tissues; it does not form the body's covering and lining layers.
- B Correct: epithelial tissue covers surfaces, lines cavities and passageways, and forms glands.
- C Nervous tissue carries electrochemical signals; it does not line surfaces or form glands.
- D Muscle tissue contracts to produce movement; it is not a covering or glandular tissue.
Learn this topic: The four tissue types, what they do, and where to find them 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 4.1 Types of Tissues ·
The walls of the lung alveoli must let oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across very quickly. Which type of epithelium best fits this job?
Correct answer: B
Simple squamous epithelium is a single layer of flat cells, which gives the shortest possible path for diffusion and filtration. That is why it lines the lung alveoli and capillary walls. Many layers or tall cells would slow the exchange of gases.
- A Stratified squamous has many layers and resists wear, as in the epidermis and esophagus; its thickness would slow diffusion.
- B Correct: one thin layer of flat cells allows fast diffusion, which is why simple squamous lines the alveoli.
- C Transitional epithelium stretches as an organ fills, as in the urinary bladder; it is not built for gas exchange.
- D Simple columnar cells are tall and specialized for absorption and secretion in the digestive tract, not rapid gas exchange.
Learn this topic: The four tissue types, what they do, and where to find them 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 4.2 Epithelial Tissue ·
The menisci of the knee are made of fibrocartilage. Compared with bone, why does damaged cartilage heal so slowly?
Correct answer: D
Cartilage is a supportive connective tissue, and it is avascular: it has no blood vessels, so nutrients reach its cells only by slow diffusion through the matrix. Bone, by contrast, has a rich blood supply. Limited blood supply is also why tendons heal slowly.
- A Cartilage has an abundant extracellular matrix; like other connective tissues, it is made of cells scattered in matrix.
- B Cartilage is connective tissue, not epithelial tissue, and many epithelia actually regenerate quickly.
- C Cartilage healing is not slowed by nerve signals; its slow repair comes from its lack of blood vessels.
- D Correct: cartilage is avascular, so its cells get nutrients only by slow diffusion through the matrix, which slows repair.
Learn this topic: The four tissue types, what they do, and where to find them 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 4.3 Connective Tissue Supports and Protects ·
A radiologist wants an image that splits the body into a front (anterior) portion and a back (posterior) portion. Which plane should be used?
Correct answer: A
The frontal plane, also called the coronal plane, is a vertical plane that separates anterior (front) from posterior (back). A sagittal plane separates right from left, and a transverse plane separates upper from lower. Match the plane to the two parts it produces.
- A Correct: the frontal plane, also called the coronal plane, divides the body into anterior and posterior portions.
- B A transverse plane is horizontal and produces upper (superior) and lower (inferior) parts, called cross sections.
- C A midsagittal plane is vertical but runs down the midline, producing equal right and left halves, not front and back.
- D A parasagittal plane is vertical but off center, producing unequal right and left parts.
Learn this topic: How to describe any location on the human body 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 1.6 Anatomical Terminology ·
The lining of the trachea is pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium. Why is it called "pseudo" (false) stratified?
Correct answer: A
Pseudostratified epithelium is only one cell layer thick: every cell touches the basement membrane, although not every cell reaches the free surface. Because the nuclei sit at different levels, the tissue looks layered under a microscope. In the trachea and bronchi, many of these cells carry cilia that move mucus.
- A Correct: it is one layer, but staggered nuclei at different heights make it look stratified.
- B Changing shape as an organ stretches describes transitional epithelium of the urinary bladder, not the trachea lining.
- C All epithelia rest on a basement membrane, and in pseudostratified epithelium every cell contacts it.
- D A tissue with several true cell layers would be stratified; pseudostratified epithelium only looks layered.
Learn this topic: The four tissue types, what they do, and where to find them 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 4.2 Epithelial Tissue · OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System ·
A diploid germ cell in the testis completes both divisions of meiosis. What does it produce?
Correct answer: B
Meiosis has two rounds of division, so one diploid cell yields four haploid cells, each with a single set of chromosomes (23 in humans). These become gametes. Mitosis, by contrast, is one division that makes two identical diploid cells.
- A Two identical diploid daughter cells are the result of mitosis, not meiosis.
- B Correct: two rounds of division turn one diploid cell into four haploid cells with one chromosome set each.
- C Meiosis halves the chromosome number, so its products are haploid, not diploid.
- D Two haploid cells exist only after the first meiotic division; the second division makes four.
Learn this topic: How one cell becomes two, or four 6-minute lesson
Source: NHGRI (NIH) Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms: Meiosis · OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 3.5 Cell Growth and Division ·
Which skin structures release sebum, an oily mixture of lipids that keeps skin and hair soft and waterproof?
Correct answer: A
Sebaceous glands are oil glands, most of them connected to hair follicles, and they release sebum onto the skin. Sebum keeps skin and hair supple and waterproof. Sweat glands, by contrast, release watery or thicker sweat, not oil.
- A Correct: sebaceous (oil) glands produce and release sebum.
- B Melanocytes are pigment cells that make melanin; they do not secrete oil.
- C Apocrine sweat glands release a thicker sweat in hairy areas such as the armpits; it is not sebum.
- D Eccrine sweat glands release a watery sweat used to cool the body, not oily sebum.
Learn this topic: How your skin is layered and what each layer does 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 5.2 Accessory Structures of the Skin · OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 5.1 Layers of the Skin ·
At the pubic symphysis, the two hip bones are joined by a pad of fibrocartilage that allows only limited movement. How is this joint classified by function?
Correct answer: B
Joints are classified by function according to how much they move: a synarthrosis is immobile, an amphiarthrosis has limited mobility, and a diarthrosis moves freely. The pubic symphysis and the intervertebral discs are classic amphiarthroses. All synovial joints are diarthroses.
- A A synarthrosis is immobile or nearly so, such as a skull suture; the pubic symphysis allows some movement.
- B Correct: a joint with limited mobility, like the pubic symphysis, is an amphiarthrosis.
- C A diarthrosis is freely movable, which describes synovial joints, not a fibrocartilage pad.
- D A suture is an immobile fibrous joint between skull bones, not a fibrocartilage joint.
Learn this topic: How bones are built, remodeled, and joined 7-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 9.1 Classification of Joints ·
During a hard sprint, a leg muscle fiber cannot get enough oxygen, yet glycolysis keeps running. Into what is pyruvic acid converted so that glycolysis can continue?
Correct answer: C
When oxygen is short, muscle fibers rely on anaerobic glycolysis, which makes only a small amount of ATP. Pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid, a step that regenerates NAD+ so glycolysis can keep going. With enough oxygen, pyruvic acid instead enters aerobic respiration in the mitochondria.
- A Glycogen is the muscle's stored form of glucose, a source for glycolysis rather than its product.
- B Carbon dioxide and water are end products of aerobic respiration, which requires oxygen.
- C Correct: without enough oxygen, pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid so glycolysis can continue.
- D Creatine phosphate is a stored phosphate donor that regenerates ATP from ADP; it is not made from pyruvic acid.
Learn this topic: How muscles contract, from nerve signal to sliding filaments 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 10.3 Muscle Fiber Contraction and Relaxation ·
Which brain region acts as a main control center for homeostasis, helping regulate body temperature and appetite and directing the pituitary gland?
Correct answer: A
The hypothalamus is a small region below the thalamus that regulates homeostasis. It helps control body temperature, appetite, and salt and water balance, and it directs the pituitary gland, linking the nervous and endocrine systems. The similar-sounding thalamus is mainly a sensory relay.
- A Correct: the hypothalamus regulates homeostasis, including temperature and appetite, and controls the pituitary.
- B The thalamus relays information between the cerebral cortex and the rest of the nervous system; it does not run the pituitary.
- C The cerebellum compares intended movements with sensory feedback to coordinate movement.
- D The medulla oblongata helps regulate heart and breathing rates, not temperature or the pituitary.
Learn this topic: How the nervous system sends and sorts signals 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 13.2 The Central Nervous System · MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Hypothalamic dysfunction ·
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cushions the brain and spinal cord. Between which two layers does CSF circulate around the outside of the brain?
Correct answer: C
From superficial to deep, the meninges are the dura mater, the arachnoid mater, and the pia mater, which clings to the surface of the brain and spinal cord. CSF fills the subarachnoid space, between the arachnoid and the pia. CSF is produced by the choroid plexuses inside the ventricles.
- A The dura mater is the outermost meninx, lying against the skull; CSF does not circulate there.
- B The space just beneath the dura is not where CSF flows; CSF lies deep to the arachnoid.
- C Correct: CSF fills the subarachnoid space, between the arachnoid mater and the pia mater.
- D The pia mater sits directly on the brain surface, so there is no CSF-filled space beneath it.
Learn this topic: How the nervous system sends and sorts signals 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 13.3 Circulation and the Central Nervous System ·
When blood calcium rises above its normal range, which hormone is released that helps lower it, and which cells make that hormone?
Correct answer: B
Calcitonin is made by the parafollicular (C) cells of the thyroid and helps decrease blood calcium. Parathyroid hormone has the opposite effect: it is released when blood calcium is low and raises it. Remember the pair: calcitonin "tones down" calcium, PTH "pulls" calcium into the blood.
- A PTH is released when blood calcium is low, and its effects raise blood calcium.
- B Correct: calcitonin, from the thyroid's parafollicular (C) cells, helps decrease blood calcium.
- C Aldosterone increases sodium retention, raising blood volume and pressure; it does not lower calcium.
- D Thyroid follicle cells make T3 and T4, which regulate metabolism, not blood calcium.
Learn this topic: How hormones and negative feedback keep blood glucose steady 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 17.4 The Thyroid Gland · OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 17.5 The Parathyroid Glands · OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 17.6 The Adrenal Glands ·
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and oxytocin are released into the blood from the posterior pituitary. Where are these two hormones actually made?
Correct answer: D
ADH and oxytocin are made by neurons in the hypothalamus (ADH in the supraoptic nuclei, oxytocin in the paraventricular nuclei). They travel down axons to the posterior pituitary, which stores them and releases them into the blood. The posterior pituitary releases these hormones but does not make them.
- A The adrenal cortex makes steroid hormones such as aldosterone and cortisol.
- B The posterior pituitary only stores and releases these hormones; it does not synthesize them.
- C The anterior pituitary makes its own hormones, such as GH, TSH and ACTH, not ADH or oxytocin.
- D Correct: hypothalamic neurons make ADH and oxytocin and send them down their axons to the posterior pituitary.
Learn this topic: How hormones and negative feedback keep blood glucose steady 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 17.3 The Pituitary Gland and Hypothalamus ·
A person has type AB blood. Which naturally formed ABO antibodies are found in this person's plasma?
Correct answer: D
A person's plasma lacks antibodies against the ABO antigens on their own red blood cells. Type AB red cells carry both A and B antigens, so the plasma has neither anti-A nor anti-B. Type O is the reverse: no A or B antigens, and both antibodies in the plasma.
- A Anti-B only describes type A blood, whose red cells carry the A antigen.
- B Having both anti-A and anti-B describes type O blood, whose red cells carry neither antigen.
- C Anti-A only describes type B blood, whose red cells carry the B antigen.
- D Correct: type AB red cells carry both antigens, so the plasma has no anti-A or anti-B antibodies.
Learn this topic: How blood flows through the heart 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 18.6 Blood Typing ·
After passing through the capillaries of the heart wall, most oxygen-poor blood collects in the coronary sinus. Where does the coronary sinus empty?
Correct answer: C
The heart muscle has its own circulation. Coronary arteries supply the myocardium, and cardiac veins such as the great cardiac vein drain into the coronary sinus on the posterior surface of the heart. The coronary sinus empties directly into the right atrium, joining the oxygen-poor blood from the venae cavae.
- A The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the pulmonary veins, not venous blood from the heart wall.
- B The coronary arteries arise from the first part of the aorta; that is where blood enters the heart wall, not where it leaves.
- C Correct: the coronary sinus empties directly into the right atrium.
- D The coronary sinus opens straight into a heart chamber, not into the superior vena cava.
Learn this topic: How blood flows through the heart 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 19.1 Heart Anatomy ·
Which formed elements of the blood are cell fragments that play a key role in stopping blood loss from a damaged vessel?
Correct answer: D
Platelets (thrombocytes) are fragments of large cells called megakaryocytes. They are critical to hemostasis, the process that stops bleeding after a vessel is damaged. Erythrocytes carry oxygen, and leukocytes such as neutrophils and lymphocytes defend the body.
- A Erythrocytes (red blood cells) carry oxygen; they are not the main players in stopping bleeding.
- B Lymphocytes are whole white blood cells of the immune system, not cell fragments.
- C Neutrophils are whole white blood cells that fight infection, especially bacteria.
- D Correct: platelets are cell fragments from megakaryocytes and are critical to hemostasis.
Learn this topic: How blood flows through the heart 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 18.4 Leukocytes and Platelets ·
Which statement correctly compares the lobes of the two lungs?
Correct answer: A
The right lung has three lobes (superior, middle and inferior), while the left lung has two (superior and inferior). The left lung is smaller and has an indentation, the cardiac notch, that makes room for the heart.
- A Correct: the right lung has superior, middle and inferior lobes; the left lung has superior and inferior lobes.
- B Only the right lung has three lobes; the left lung has two and occupies less volume.
- C This reverses the sides: the right lung, not the left, has three lobes.
- D Only the left lung has two lobes; the right lung has three.
Learn this topic: How air reaches the alveoli and how oxygen and CO2 trade places 5-minute lesson
The wall of the small intestine has four main layers. Starting at the lumen and moving outward, which layer lies directly beneath the mucosa?
Correct answer: A
From the lumen outward, the four layers of the alimentary canal wall are the mucosa, submucosa, muscularis and serosa. The submucosa is loose connective tissue with blood and lymphatic vessels, glands and a nerve plexus, and it binds the mucosa to the muscularis. The lamina propria is a connective tissue layer inside the mucosa itself.
- A Correct: the submucosa lies just beneath the mucosa and connects it to the muscularis.
- B The muscularis is the third layer, outside the submucosa; its smooth muscle mixes and propels food.
- C The serosa is the outermost layer, made of visceral peritoneum.
- D The lamina propria is part of the mucosa, not a separate layer beneath it.
Learn this topic: How food is broken down and absorbed, from mouth to colon 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 23.1 Overview of the Digestive System ·
Which structure carries urine from a kidney to the urinary bladder?
Correct answer: C
Each kidney drains into a ureter, a tube that carries urine to the urinary bladder; waves of peristalsis in its wall push the urine along. The bladder stores urine, and the single urethra carries it out of the body. A quick way to remember: the ureter comes first, the urethra exits.
- A The urethra carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body, not from the kidney to the bladder.
- B Collecting ducts lie inside the kidney and deliver urine toward the renal pelvis, not to the bladder.
- C Correct: each ureter carries urine from a kidney to the bladder, propelled by peristalsis.
- D The renal artery brings blood to the kidney; it does not carry urine.
Learn this topic: How the kidneys filter blood and make urine 5-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 25.2 Gross Anatomy of Urine Transport ·
Which accessory glands supply about 60 percent of semen volume, in a fluid rich in fructose that sperm use to make ATP?
Correct answer: D
The paired seminal vesicles contribute roughly 60 percent of semen volume, and their fluid contains large amounts of fructose that fuels sperm movement. The prostate adds a milky fluid that first coagulates and then decoagulates semen, and the bulbourethral glands release a lubricating fluid before ejaculation.
- A The bulbourethral glands release a small amount of thick, lubricating fluid before ejaculation.
- B The prostate adds a milky, alkaline fluid that helps coagulate and then decoagulate semen; it is not the main fructose source.
- C The epididymis is a coiled tube where sperm mature and are stored; it is not an accessory gland.
- D Correct: the seminal vesicles provide about 60 percent of semen, in fructose-rich fluid.
Learn this topic: How the male and female reproductive systems make gametes and new life 6-minute lesson
Source: OpenStax Anatomy & Physiology 2e, 27.1 Anatomy and Physiology of the Testicular Reproductive System ·
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Each program picks the sections and sets its own minimum.
| Program | Sections | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Baylor University | Math, English composite | 80 or better on each |
| Lone Star College, ADN | Reading, Grammar, Vocabulary, A&P, Math, Critical Thinking | 80 on each section (750 for Critical Thinking) |
| University of Arizona | Math, Reading, Vocabulary, Biology | 75% combined score |
| CNM (New Mexico) | Grammar, Reading, Vocabulary, Biology, Chemistry, Math | 75% on every section and 75% composite |
Your score is the percent you got right in each section. The real HESI A2 also scores each section as percent correct, and your cumulative score is the average of the sections you took.
Rules change every year. Always check your own program’s page. Checked October 15, 2026.
HESI A2 format
| Section | Questions (scored) | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | 55 (50) | 60 min |
| Vocabulary | 55 (50) | 50 min |
| Grammar | 55 (50) | 50 min |
| Math | 55 (50) | 50 min |
| Biology | 30 (25) | 25 min |
| Chemistry | 30 (25) | 25 min |
| Anatomy & Physiology | 30 (25) | 25 min |
Five questions in each section are unscored pilot items. Elsevier doesn’t publish these numbers; they come from nursing programs’ pages.
Common questions
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Next steps
Sources (checked October 15, 2026)
- Elsevier, HESI NG A2 faculty guide (schools choose modules, calculator and time)
- South Texas College, HESI exam information (50 scored + 5 pilot items)
- Tarrant County College, HESI A2 exam information
- Baylor University, HESI A2 information
- Lone Star College, HESI A2 test
- University of Arizona, HESI admission assessment
- CNM, HESI A2 exam