Medical Conditions and Discoveries Quiz

Question: In 1851 the German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope. What is this instrument used for?

Answer: An ophthalmoscope is an instrument for inspecting the interior of the eye. It was invented in 1851 by the German physiologist Hermann von Helmholtz.

Question: Who performed the first successful human heart transplant?

Answer: In 1967 Christiaan Barnard led a team of 20 surgeons that replaced the heart of an incurably ill grocer with a heart taken from a fatally injured accident victim. This was the first successful human heart transplant, though the patient died 18 days later of double pneumonia.

Question: On what part of the body is a sphygmomanometer used?

Answer: A sphygmomanometer consists of an inflatable rubber cuff, which is wrapped around the upper arm and which is connected to an apparatus that records blood pressure.

Question: Beriberi, meaning “extreme weakness,” is the name of a disorder caused by a lack of which vitamin?

Answer: Beriberi is a nutritional disorder caused by a deficiency of vitamin B₁ (thiamin) and characterized by impairment of the nerves and heart. The term beriberi is derived from a Sinhalese word meaning “extreme weakness.”

Question: Which vitamin is also called niacin and prevents the skin lesions that are a symptom of pellagra?

Answer: Vitamin B3, or niacin, is also called the pellagra-preventive vitamin, or vitamin PP, because an adequate amount in the diet prevents pellagra, a chronic disease characterized by skin lesions, gastrointestinal disturbance, and nervous symptoms.

Question: If you see dark wavy lines on your skin and you are itchy at night, what sort of parasite might you have?

Answer: The itch mite causes scabies, a skin inflammation accompanied by severe nighttime itching. The female mite burrows beneath the superficial layer of the skin to lay two to three eggs a day. These burrows sometimes are visible as dark wavy lines. Larvae emerge from the skin after a few days, molt several times, and become adults in about 17 days. The initial lesion produced by the burrowing mite becomes intensely itchy.

Question: Hippocrates of Cos, who may or may not have lived during the 5th or 4th century BCE and probably did not write all the works commonly ascribed to him, is traditionally considered to be the father of which branch of science?

Answer: Although Hippocrates of Cos (born c. 460 BCE?) has been called the father of medicine, little is known of his life, and there may, in fact, have been several men of this name. He may have been the author of only some, or none, of the books that make up the Hippocratic Collection (Corpus Hippocraticum).

Question: People get sick from eating Salmonella. What is it?

Answer: Most infections by Salmonella bacteria result from the ingestion of contaminated food or water. Many different diseases are caused by this group of bacteria.

Question: Hypothermia can make a person appear dead. What is hypothermia?

Answer: Hypothermia is abnormally low body temperature in a warm-blooded creature, associated with a general slowing of physiological activity. Pulse, respiration, and blood pressure are depressed; in some cases the victim of hypothermia appears to be dead, although revival may still be possible with appropriate treatment.

Question: What condition is tachycardia, usually brought on by exercise or stress?

Answer: Tachycardia is a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute. It occurs normally during and after exercise or during stress and represents no danger to healthy individuals.

Question: What is the disease pertussis commonly known as?

Answer: Pertussis is commonly known as whooping cough. It is an acute, highly communicable respiratory disease characterized in its typical form by paroxysms of coughing followed by a long-drawn inspiration, or “whoop,” and ending with expulsion of clear, sticky mucus and often vomiting.

Question: What is the term for a localized collection of pus in a cavity formed from tissues that have been broken down by infectious bacteria?

Answer: An abscess is a localized collection of pus in a cavity formed from tissues that have been broken down by infectious bacteria. An abscess is caused when bacteria such as staphylococci or streptococci gain access to tissue (e.g., by means of a small wound on the skin).

Question: What does thrombosis refer to?

Answer: Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot in the heart or in a blood vessel. Factors that play a role in the formation of clots (thrombi) include injury to a blood vessel and alterations from normal blood flow.

Question: Which disease is characterized by the thinning of bones, with a consequent tendency to sustain fractures?

Answer: Osteoporosis, a disease most common in postmenopausal women over age 50, is characterized by the thinning of bones, with a consequent tendency to sustain fractures from minor stresses. It results from disturbances of calcium metabolism and nutrition.

Question: What X-ray technique produces images of internal body structures as visual “slices” of the body?

Answer: Computerized tomography is a diagnostic imaging method using a low-dose beam of X-rays that crosses the body in a single plane at many different angles, thus generating visual “slices” of the body.

Question: Which of these diseases is an example of zoonosis?

Answer: Rabies is an example of zoonosis, a disease shared by humans and other vertebrate animals.

Question: Who developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio?

Answer: Jonas Edward Salk, an American physician and medical researcher, developed the first safe and effective vaccine for polio.

Question: Which of these is not a single vitamin but part of a group, or complex, of substances?

Answer: The vitamin B complex includes thiamin (B₁), pyridoxine (B₆), cyanocobalamin (B₁₂), and others. Most of the B vitamins have been recognized as coenzymes, which are substances that participate with enzymes in accelerating the interconversion of chemical compounds.

Question: What is the generic term for inflammation of the mucous tissue of the nose?

Answer: Rhinitis is a generic term for inflammation of the mucous tissue of the nose. Acute rhinitis is a symptom of the common cold.

Question: Whose principle—that bacteria must never gain entry to an operation wound—remains the basis of surgery to this day?

Answer: Joseph Lister, a British surgeon and medical scientist, was the founder of antiseptic medicine and a pioneer in preventive medicine. While his method, based on the use of antiseptics, is no longer employed, his principle—that bacteria must never gain entry to an operation wound—remains the basis of surgery to this day.

Question: Who was a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours?

Answer: The American surgeon Harvey Williams Cushing was a leading neurosurgeon of the early 20th century and a pioneer in the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours.

Question: What is the disease tetanus also called?

Answer: Tetanus is a disease characterized by rigidity and spasms of the voluntary muscles. The almost constant involvement of the jaw muscles accounts for the popular name of the disease, lockjaw.

Question: Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, and limes protected the crews of sailing ships from scurvy, a disorder caused by a deficiency of which vitamin?

Answer: Scurvy, one of the oldest known nutritional disorders of humankind, is caused by a dietary lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid), a nutrient found in many fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly the citrus fruits. Vitamin C is required in the diet of humans, though most other vertebrates, lower animals, and plants can synthesize the vitamin from glucose.