Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) Practice Test

If a client has damage to Broca's area, which condition would the nurse expect to observe?

1. Inability to understand spoken language

2. Expressive aphasia

3. Receptive aphasia

4. Loss of speech comprehension

The correct answer is: Expressive aphasia

When a client has damage to Broca's area, the condition that is typically observed is expressive aphasia. Broca's area is located in the frontal lobe of the brain and is primarily responsible for speech production and language processing. Individuals with damage to this area often have difficulty forming coherent speech, displaying symptoms such as halting speech, agrammatism (omission of small words), and difficulty with word retrieval. While they generally retain the ability to understand spoken language, their ability to express themselves verbally is compromised. This is why expressive aphasia is the most accurate description of their condition. The other options relate to different aspects of language deficits that would typically arise from damage to other areas of the brain, such as Wernicke's area, which is associated with comprehension of language. Therefore, the manifestation of expressive aphasia following damage to Broca's area is the key indicator of this type of aphasia.