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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where was Irv Lipsiner when he suffered from complete cardiac heart failure, according to the author in Chapter 1?

2. What is the title of Chapter 1?

3. According to Dr. Nuland in Chapter 3, heart muscle and brain cells are unable to do what?

4. Horace Giddens is a character in a play written by whom?

5. How old was James McCarty when he was admitted to the university hospital where Dr. Nuland worked?

Short Essay Questions

1. What case study does the author use as an example in his discussion of Alzheimer’s in Chapter 5?

2. What does the author say in relation to the expectation of growing old in Chapter 4?

3. What does Dr. Nuland say regarding the bureaucracy of death in Chapter 3?

4. How does the author go about explaining the heart’s functions in Chapter 2?

5. How are heart problems and heart disease diagnosed and predicted, according to the author in Chapter 2?

6. How treatable are cardiac events, according to the author in Chapter 1?

7. Who is Horace Giddens and how is he described by the author?

8. How has the determination of death changed over time, according to the author in Chapter 2? What are Dr. Nuland’s conclusions of the determination of death?

9. What does the author beseech of the reader in his Introduction to How We Die?

10. What happened when Dr. Nuland was doing Mr. McCarty’s paperwork, according to the author in Chapter 1?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the major components of the heart and their function. Which blood vessel most commonly causes infarct in the heart? How do the functions of the left and right sides of the heart differ? Where do most health problems arise first in the heart?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the role of endorphins and their role in easing death for trauma patients as well as “near-death experiences.” Why does the author state that the theory of endorphin release after trauma has insufficient evidence for proof? How is the theory illustrated in the case study of Katie Mason?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss John Seidman’s experiences with death as discussed in Chapter 9. What did Seidman experience as he lost friends and family to AIDS and cancer? How did he describe the healing process that took place during the deaths of his loved ones? Have you experienced the death of a loved one? If so, how did your experience relate to those of Seidman?

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