Gross Anatomy Practice Questions

Question 1

During a surgical procedure to repair an abdominal aortic aneurysm, the surgeon must be careful to avoid injury to which of the following arterial structures that originates near the level of the renal vessels?

Accepted Answer

Left renal artery

Answer

Celiac trunk

Answer

Right renal artery

Answer

Superior mesenteric artery

Question 2

A surgeon is interested in studying how different surgical techniques impact the healing of tendon injuries. In particular, he will compare 3 different types of suture repairs biomechanically in order to determine the maximum load before failure of the tendon 2 weeks after repair. He collects data on maximum load for 90 different repaired tendons from an animal model. Thirty tendons were repaired using each of the different suture techniques. Which of the following statistical measures is most appropriate for analyzing the results of this study?

Accepted Answer

ANOVA

Answer

Chi-squared

Answer

Wilcoxon rank sum

Answer

Pearson r coefficient

Answer

Student t-test

Question 3

A 12-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department late at night by his worried mother. She says he has not been feeling well since this morning after breakfast. He skipped both lunch and dinner. He complains of abdominal pain as he points towards his lower abdomen but says that the pain initially started at the center of his belly. His mother adds that he vomited once on the way to the hospital. His past medical history is noncontributory and his vaccinations are up to date. His temperature is 38.1°C (100.6°F), pulse is 98/min, respirations are 20/min, and blood pressure is 110/75 mm Hg. Physical examination reveals right lower quadrant tenderness. The patient is prepared for laparoscopic abdominal surgery. Which of the following structures is most likely to aid the surgeons in finding the source of this patient's pain and fever?

Accepted Answer

Teniae coli

Answer

McBurney's point

Answer

Linea Semilunaris

Answer

Transumbilical plane

Answer

Arcuate line

Question 4

A 12-year-old boy presents to the emergency room with difficulty breathing after several days of severe sore throat. Further history reveals that his family immigrated recently from Eastern Europe and he has never previously seen a doctor. Physical exam shows cervical lymphadenopathy with extensive neck edema as well as the finding shown in the image provided. You suspect a bacteria that causes the disease by producing an AB type exotoxin. Which of the following is the proper medium to culture the most likely cause of this infection?

Accepted Answer

Tellurite Agar

Answer

Thayer-Martin Agar

Answer

Charcoal Yeast Agar

Answer

Eaton's Agar

Answer

Bordet-Gengou Agar

Question 5

A 15-year-old female presents to her family physician for an annual school physical exam and check-up. She is accompanied by her mother to the visit and is present in the exam room. The patient has no complaints, and she does not have any past medical problems. She takes no medications. The patient reports that she remains active, exercising 5 times a week, and eats a healthy and varied diet. Which of the following would be the best way for the physician to obtain a more in-depth social history, including sexual history and use of alcohol, tobacco, or recreational drugs?

Accepted Answer

Ask the mother to step outside into the hall for a portion of the visit

Answer

Disallow the mother to be present in the examination room throughout the entirety of the visit

Answer

Give the patient a social history questionnaire to fill out in the exam room

Answer

Ask the patient the questions directly, with her mother still in the exam room

Answer

Speak softly to the patient so that the mother does not hear and the patient is not embarrassed

Question 6

A 20-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department because of severe muscle soreness, nausea, and darkened urine for 2 days. The patient is on the college track team and has been training intensively for an upcoming event. One month ago, she had a urinary tract infection and was treated with nitrofurantoin. She appears healthy. Her temperature is 37°C (98.6°F), pulse is 64/min, and blood pressure is 110/70 mm Hg. Cardiopulmonary examination shows no abnormalities. The abdomen is soft and non-tender. There is diffuse muscle tenderness over the arms, legs, and back. Laboratory studies show:
Hemoglobin 12.8 g/dL
Leukocyte count 7,000/mm3
Platelet count 265,000/mm3
Serum
Creatine kinase 22,000 U/L
Lactate dehydrogenase 380 U/L
Urine
Blood 3+
Protein 1+
RBC negative
WBC 1–2/hpf
This patient is at increased risk for which of the following complications?

Accepted Answer

Acute kidney injury

Answer

Myocarditis

Answer

Metabolic alkalosis

Answer

Compartment syndrome

Answer

Hemolytic anemia

Question 7

A 35-year-old man is brought to the emergency department from a kitchen fire. The patient was cooking when boiling oil splashed on his exposed skin. His temperature is 99.7°F (37.6°C), blood pressure is 127/82 mmHg, pulse is 120/min, respirations are 12/min, and oxygen saturation is 98% on room air. He has dry, nontender, and circumferential burns over his arms bilaterally, burns over the anterior portion of his chest and abdomen, and tender spot burns with blisters on his shins. A 1L bolus of normal saline is administered and the patient is given morphine and his pulse is subsequently 80/min. A Foley catheter is placed which drains 10 mL of urine. What is the best next step in management?

Accepted Answer

Additional fluids and escharotomy

Answer

Escharotomy

Answer

Continuous observation

Answer

Moist dressings and discharge

Answer

Additional fluids and admission to the ICU

Question 8

A 58-year-old obese male has noticed the gradual development of a soft bulge on his right groin that has been present over the past year and occasionally becomes very tender. He notices that it comes out when he coughs and strains during bowel movements. He is able to push the bulge back in without issue. After examination, you realize that he has an inguinal hernia and recommend open repair with mesh placement. After surgery, the patient returns to clinic and complains of numbness and tingling in the upper part of the scrotum and base of the penis. What nerve was most likely injured during the procedure?

Accepted Answer

Ilioinguinal nerve

Answer

Iliohypogastric nerve

Answer

Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve

Answer

Obturator nerve

Answer

Genitofemoral nerve

Question 9

A 35-year-old man is referred to a physical therapist due to limitation of movement in the wrist and fingers of his left hand. He cannot hold objects or perform daily activities with his left hand. He broke his left arm at the humerus one month ago. The break was simple and treatment involved a cast for one month. Then he lost his health insurance and could not return for follow up. Only after removing the cast did he notice the movement issues in his left hand and wrist. His past medical history is otherwise insignificant, and vital signs are within normal limits. On examination, the patient’s left hand is pale and flexed in a claw-like position. It is firm and tender to palpation. Right radial pulse is 2+ and left radial pulse is 1+. The patient is unable to actively extend his fingers and wrist, and passive extension is difficult and painful. Which of the following is a proper treatment for the presented patient?

Accepted Answer

Surgical release

Answer

Botulinum toxin injections

Answer

Collagenase injections

Answer

Needle fasciotomy

Answer

Corticosteroid injections

Question 10

A 23-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with an acute exacerbation of her 3-month history of low back and right leg pain. She says she has had similar symptoms in the past, but this time the pain was so excruciating, it took her breath away. She describes the pain as severe, shock-like, and localized to her lower back and radiating straight down the back of her right thigh and to her calf, stopping at the ankle. Her pain is worse in the morning, and, sometimes, the pain wakes her up at night with severe buttock and posterior thigh pain but walking actually makes the pain subside somewhat. The patient reports no smoking history or alcohol or drug use. She has been working casually as a waitress and does find bending over tables a strain. She is afebrile, and her vital signs are within normal limits. On physical examination, her left straight leg raise test is severely limited and reproduces her buttock pain at 20° of hip flexion. Pain is worsened by the addition of ankle dorsiflexion. The sensation is intact. Her L4 and L5 reflexes are normal, but her S1 reflex is absent on the right side. A CT of the lumbar spine shows an L5–S1 disc protrusion with right S1 nerve root compression. Which of the following muscle-nerve complexes is involved in producing an S1 reflex?

Accepted Answer

Gastrocnemius/soleus-tibial nerve

Answer

Adductors-obturator nerve

Answer

Sartorius-femoral nerve

Answer

Tibialis posterior-tibial nerve

Answer

Quadriceps femoris-femoral nerve

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