FMGE 2025 - Anatomy Practice Questions

Q: A subject was brought to the Casualty with a history of RTA and head injury. On examination, he was conscious. When the doctor asked questions about the incident, his answers were irrelevant to the questions, but his speech was fluent. What could be the possible site of injury?

Superior temporal gyrus. ***Correct Answer: Superior temporal gyrus*** - The patient exhibits **fluent aphasia** (fluent speech) with severely **impaired comprehension** (irrelevant answers), which is the hallmark of **Wernicke's aphasia** [1]. - **Wernicke's area**, responsible for language comprehension, is located in the posterior aspect of the dominant hemisphere's **superior temporal gyrus** [1]. *Incorrect: Pre-central gyrus* - This area houses the primary **motor cortex**; damage typically results in contralateral **hemiparesis** or paralysis, not selective language comprehension deficits [1]. - Although cortical damage can cause speech articulation issues (**dysarthria**), it does not account for the specific fluent aphasia with catastrophic loss of understanding described. *Incorrect: Inferior frontal gyrus* - The dominant inferior frontal gyrus contains **Broca's area**, damage to which results in **non-fluent aphasia** (impaired speech production) with preserved comprehension [1]. - This presentation (fluent speech, poor comprehension) is diametrically opposite to the expected profile of **Broca's aphasia** [1]. *Incorrect: Brain stem* - Injury here often causes severe alterations in **consciousness**, cranial nerve palsies, or **dysarthria** due to involvement of motor pathways. - The brain stem is not primarily involved in complex, higher-order language functions like comprehension; pure Wernicke's aphasia is a **cortical syndrome** [1].

Q: What is the status of the marked individual?

Adopted from another family. ***Adopted from another family*** - In pedigree analysis, square **brackets `[ ]`** placed around an individual's symbol (a circle for female, a square for male) specifically denote that the person has been **adopted** into the family. - The relationship lines connecting an adopted individual to their adoptive parents are typically represented as **dashed lines** to distinguish them from biological parent-offspring lines, which are solid. *Has a disease of chronic origin* - An individual affected by a genetic disease or trait is represented by a **shaded or filled-in** symbol, not by brackets. The circle in the image is not shaded, indicating an unaffected status. - Pedigree symbols do not typically differentiate between chronic and acute diseases; they primarily indicate the **presence or absence** of the specific trait being studied. *Curable disease* - The **prognosis or curability** of a disease is not represented by a standard pedigree symbol. An affected status is shown by **shading the symbol**, irrespective of the disease's nature. - The symbol for adoption (`[ ]`) is distinct and unrelated to any health status or medical condition. *Twin* - **Twins** are indicated by two individual symbols branching from the same point on the parental line. A horizontal line connecting the symbols signifies **monozygotic (identical) twins**. - The symbol shown represents a single individual, and the brackets denote adoption, not a twin relationship.

Question 1

A subject was brought to the Casualty with a history of RTA and head injury. On examination, he was conscious. When the doctor asked questions about the incident, his answers were irrelevant to the questions, but his speech was fluent. What could be the possible site of injury?

Accepted Answer

Superior temporal gyrus

Answer

Brain stem

Answer

Inferior frontal gyrus

Answer

Pre-central gyrus

Question 2

What is the status of the marked individual?

Accepted Answer

Adopted from another family

Answer

Has a disease of chronic origin

Answer

Curable disease

Answer

Twin

FMGE 2025 — Anatomy