Pathophysiology Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Damage to the hypothalamic neurons that produce antidiuretic hormone would most directly cause which change?
Reduced urine volume with increased urine concentration
Increased urine volume with dilute urine
Reduced urine volume with increased sodium retention
Increased urine concentration with low plasma osmolality
2. A patient has primary hyperthyroidism caused by excessive thyroid hormone secretion. Which laboratory pattern is most likely?
Low free thyroxine and high thyroid-stimulating hormone
High free thyroxine and high thyroid-stimulating hormone
High free thyroxine and low thyroid-stimulating hormone
Low free thyroxine and low thyroid-stimulating hormone
3. Acid entering the duodenum triggers release of secretin. Which response does secretin primarily promote?
Release of hydrochloric acid from gastric parietal cells
Release of insulin from pancreatic beta cells
Secretion of pepsinogen from gastric chief cells
Secretion of bicarbonate-rich fluid from pancreatic ducts
4. A patient with inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion retains excess water. Which combination best fits this mechanism?
High serum osmolality and dilute urine
High serum sodium and increased urine volume
Low serum osmolality and inappropriately concentrated urine
Normal serum osmolality and absent urine sodium
5. A patient has sustained respiratory acidosis from chronic carbon dioxide retention. Which renal response helps compensate?
Greater hydrogen-ion secretion and bicarbonate retention
Greater bicarbonate excretion and reduced hydrogen-ion secretion
Reduced ammonium production and increased chloride loss
Reduced sodium reabsorption without a change in acid handling
6. A disorder destroys most of the adrenal cortex, reducing cortisol production. Before treatment, which feedback pattern is expected?
High cortisol with high adrenocorticotropic hormone
High cortisol with low adrenocorticotropic hormone
Low cortisol with low adrenocorticotropic hormone
Low cortisol with high adrenocorticotropic hormone
7. When ionized blood calcium falls, what response from the parathyroid glands helps restore it?
Increased calcitonin secretion
Increased parathyroid hormone secretion
Decreased vitamin D activation in the kidneys
Decreased renal calcium reabsorption
8. Which substance secreted by gastric parietal cells is required for normal vitamin B12 absorption?
Pepsinogen
Gastrin
Mucus
Intrinsic factor
9. In severe insulin deficiency, why does ketone production increase?
Insulin directly activates ketone synthesis in adipose tissue
Excess insulin converts circulating glucose directly into ketones
Reduced glucagon secretion blocks glucose use by skeletal muscle
Loss of insulin's restraint on lipolysis increases fatty-acid delivery to the liver
10. A newly diagnosed patient has marked hyperglycemia and islet autoantibodies consistent with type 1 diabetes. Which biochemical finding most directly reflects reduced endogenous insulin secretion?
High C-peptide concentration
Low C-peptide concentration
Suppressed glucagon concentration
High calcitonin concentration
11. A mass compresses the pituitary stalk and interrupts dopamine delivery from the hypothalamus. What commonly happens to prolactin secretion?
It falls because dopamine normally stimulates prolactin release
It remains unchanged because prolactin is regulated only by the ovaries
It rises because dopamine normally inhibits prolactin release
It stops because all pituitary hormones require hypothalamic stimulation
12. Acidic stomach contents enter the duodenum. What is the main protective role of bicarbonate secreted by the pancreas?
Neutralizing acid and creating a suitable pH for intestinal enzymes
Increasing gastric hydrochloric acid production
Activating pepsin in the duodenum
Breaking triglycerides directly into fatty acids
13. A patient with severe exocrine pancreatic insufficiency develops fatty, difficult-to-flush stools. Deficient secretion of which enzyme contributes most directly?
Pancreatic amylase
Pancreatic lipase
Trypsin
Deoxyribonuclease
14. A bacterial toxin persistently raises cyclic AMP in intestinal epithelial cells, driving chloride secretion. Which finding best reflects the resulting secretory diarrhea?
Stool volume stops completely during fasting
Water absorption increases because sodium follows chloride into the blood
Watery stool continues despite fasting because electrolytes are actively secreted
Fat malabsorption becomes the sole cause of the increased stool water
15. Which immediate metabolic effect normally follows insulin release after a carbohydrate-rich meal?
Increased glucose uptake by skeletal muscle and adipose tissue
Increased hepatic ketone production
Increased breakdown of adipose triglycerides
Increased hepatic glucose output
16. Which blood change can directly stimulate aldosterone secretion from the adrenal cortex?
Increased plasma potassium
Decreased angiotensin II
Increased plasma sodium
Decreased plasma potassium