USMLE Exam Questions

The table below depicts blood pressure values taken from six adults. Which set of values is most consistent with aortic regurgitation? Systolic pressure (mmHg) Diastolic pressure (...

In a hospital cardiac care unit, there are three patients with different cardiac conditions: a 52- year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy, an 18-year-old girl with mitral valve p...

A 68-year-old man sustains a myocardial infarct resulting from thrombotic occlusion at the origin of the left circumflex artery. Cardiac catheterization demonstrates that the patie...

A patient arrives in the emergency department after having been stabbed. He has sustained a penetrating wound in the left fourth intercostal space immediately lateral to the sterna...

A 14-year-old boy has just moved with his family from Brazil to the U.S. He starts complaining of shortness of breath and palpitations. Chest x-ray films demonstrate pulmonary cong...

A 65 year-old man is admitted to the coronary care unit with a diagnosis of a large myocardial infarct (MI) of the left ventricle. On his 6 postinfarct day, he goes th into shock a...

A 15-year-old is brought to the emergency department in a coma. An alert ambulance attendant notes that the patient's breath smells like acetone. This observation is most consisten...

A 24-year-old woman in her third trimester of pregnancy presents with urinary frequency and burning for the past few days. She denies fever, nausea, vomiting, or chills. She takes...

A 12-year-old girl has a temperature of 102.5 F and a sore throat. Two days later, she develops a diffuse erythematous rash and is taken to her pediatrician. On physical examinatio...

A 45-year-old man with cirrhosis due to alpha1-antitrypsin deficiency receives a liver transplant. Although currently in good health, he is at increased risk of developing which of...

A 28-year-old man comes to the physician because of a 1-year history of pain with urination that has increased in severity during the past month. He also has had episodes of blood...

A 14-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department after being hit with a baseball bat on the lateral side of his leg immediately below the knee. He is unable to dorsiflex hi...

A 24-year-old man comes to the office because of a 2-day history of a red, itchy rash on his buttocks and legs. Four days ago, he returned from a cruise to the Caribbean, during wh...

A 14-year-old girl is brought to the physician after her mother learned that she began having sexual intercourse with various partners 1 month ago. She does not use condoms or othe...

A 24-year-old woman comes to the physician for a follow-up examination. One week ago, she was treated in the emergency department after she accidentally spilled hot grease on her l...

A 63-year-old woman comes to the physician 1 day after the sudden onset of pain and swelling of her right knee. She has had no injury. Her medications include occasional ibuprofen...

A 55-year-old woman with small cell carcinoma of the lung is admitted to the hospital to undergo chemotherapy. Six days after treatment is started, she develops a temperature of 38...

A 37-year-old woman with right lower extremity edema is evaluated because of the sudden onset of shortness of breath and pleuritic chest pain. A diagnosis of pulmonary embolism is...

During an experiment, a Southern blot analysis is done by digesting DNA samples with a single restriction endonuclease, separating the digestion products by gel electrophoresis, an...

During a clinical study examining the effects of exercise, men between the ages of 20 and 30 years are evaluated during a 15-minute session on a treadmill. The average pulse for th...

A 17-year-old boy is brought to the emergency department 30 minutes after being found with a "blank stare" and flat facial expression at a party. His pulse is 72/ min, and blood pr...

A 26-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department because of an 8-hour history of severe back and abdominal pain and mild but persistent vaginal bleeding. Ultrasonography...

A 14-year-old girl has had nausea, intermittent diarrhea, and a 2.2-kg (5-lb) weight loss over the past 4 weeks. Examination shows a migrating serpiginous pruritic perianal rash. H...

A 40-year-old woman comes to the physician because of a 6-month history of increased facial hair growth. Her last menstrual period was 4 months ago. She is 165 cm (5 ft 5 in) tall...

A 45-year-old woman with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) comes to the physician because of a 3-week history of progressive shortness of breath and nonproductive cough. Her tempera...

A new blood test to detect prostate cancer is evaluated in 300 male volunteers. A needle biopsy of the prostate gland is done on all men with serum prostate- specific antigen conce...

A 62-year-old woman comes to the physician because of low back pain for 1 week. Menopause occurred 10 years ago. Physical examination shows localized tenderness over the lumbar spi...

An investigator is studying the incidence of the common cold among medical students at various time points during the school year. Results show an increased incidence of upper resp...

A 63-year-old man is brought to the emergency department because of a 4-day history of increasingly severe left leg pain and swelling of his left calf. He also has a 1-month histor...

A 35-year-old man comes to the physician because of pain and swelling of his right arm where he scraped it on a tree branch 2 days ago. His temperature is 38.3°C (101°F). Examinati...

A 4-year-old boy from Brazil is brought to the physician because of a 1-week history of painless swelling of his jaw and pressure around his eyes. He is at the 80 th percentile for...

A 33-year-old woman comes to the physician because of a 2-day history of mild nausea, increased urinary urgency and frequency, and constipation. She also has had a 4.5-kg (10-lb) w...

A 27-year-old man is admitted to the hospital 45 minutes after being involved in a motor vehicle collision. Physical examination shows a sluggish response to stimuli. Neurologic ex...

A 30-year-old man is admitted to the hospital for evaluation. He has a 6-week history of colicky abdominal pain and diarrhea with occasional blood. Three days after admission, he s...

A couple comes for preconceptional genetic counseling because they both have a family history of -thalassemia. The woman has a minimally decreased hemoglobin concentration. Genetic...

A healthy 22-year-old man participates in a study of glucose metabolism. At the beginning of the study, his serum glucose concentration is within the reference range. He consumes a...

A 63-year-old homeless man is brought to the emergency department 1 hour after police found him unresponsive. His respirations are 30/min. Crackles are heard over the left upper an...

A 16-year-old boy is brought to the physician because of a 3-day history of abdominal pain and vomiting; he also has had decreased appetite during this period. The pain was initial...

A 16-year-old boy is admitted to the emergency department because of a knife wound to the left side of his chest. An x-ray of the chest shows an air-fluid level in the left side of...

A 20-year-old woman comes to the physician because of a 5-year history of heavy bleeding with menses that often requires her to change her sanitary pads three times hourly. Menses...

A 2-year-old boy is brought to the physician for a well-child examination. He was delivered at term after an uncomplicated pregnancy. His birth weight was 3500 g(7lb11oz), and Apga...

A 31-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes mellitus comes to the physician because of an oozing, foul-smelling wound on her foot for 2 days. Physical examination shows a 4-cm, necrot...

A 10-month-old boy is brought to the physician because of a 4-day history of fever and cough. His illness began with low-grade fever and copious, clear nasal discharge. Two days ag...

A 17-year-old girl is brought to the emergency department 15 minutes after being stung by a bee. She has mild light-headedness but no difficulty swallowing. Her temperature is 37.1...

A 30-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 0, aborta 1, at 28-weeks' gestation comes to the office for a prenatal visit. She has had one previous pregnancy resulting in a spontaneous abo...

A 52-year-old woman begins pharmacotherapy after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Four weeks later, her hepatic glucose output is decreased, and target tissue glucose...

A sexually active 23-year-old man with multiple sex partners has dysuria and a yellow urethral exudate. Gram stain of the exudate shows numerous neutrophils, many that contain intr...

A 17-year-old girl is brought to the physician by her mother because she has not had a menstrual period for 6 months. The patient is unconcerned about the lack of menses. Menarche...

A 15-year-old girl comes to the physician because of a 3-month history of acne. Breast and pubic hair development began at the age of 12 years. Menarche occurred at the age of 14 y...

A previously healthy 40-year-old man is brought to the emergency department because of constant substernal chest pain for 12 hours that is exacerbated by coughing and inspiration....