Operational Anatomy Interview Questions & Answers:

1. After studying Gross Anatomy for the National Board Exams, a second year student left Sackler at 1:00am and he was mugged on Harrison Avenue. During the attack, the student held his arm up to protect his head and he was knifed on his forearm. Subsequently, while waiting to be seen in the emergency room at Nemch, the student realized that he could no longer move his thumb)

He immediately concluded that the knife must have directly injured his:

► a) Median Nerve
► b) Musculocutaneous Nerve
► c) Radial Nerve
► d) Ulnar Nerve
► e) Axillary Nerve

Answer - d

2. To confirm his diagnosis, the student should check for absence of sensation in which part of his hand:

► a) Thumb
► b) Little Finger (pinkie)
► c) Index finger
► d) Middle finger

Answer - b

3. He also should check for specific signs of:

► a) Claw Hand
► b) Wrist Drop
► c) Ape Hand
► d) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Answer- a

4. Damage to this nerve normally occurs when injury is located at the:

► a) Lateral Epicondyle of the Humerus
► b) Anatomical Neck of the Humerus
► c) Surgical Neck of the Humerus
► d) Deltoid Tuberosity of the Humerus

Answer- c

5. While rollerblading to school a third year medical student slipped on some wet pavement and crashed into a building. When he got up from his fall, he noticed he could not support his right arm and he had lost feeling on his shoulder. As he slowly made his way to the hospital, he reviewed his knowledge of the shoulder joint.

He remembered that the rotator cuff muscles associated with supporting the shoulder joint consist of all of the following except?

► a) Supraspinatus Muscle
► b) Deltoid Muscle
► c) Infrapinatus Muscle
► d) Teres Minor
► e) Subscapularis

Answer- b

6. A fourth year medical student fell off a ladder while installing a flood light above his garage and put his arm through a garage door window. When he got up from his fall, he realized the glass had deeply cut the anterior aspect of his wrist and so he decided to go to the nearest emergency room. During his trip to the ER, he studied his wrist and began to make an initial diagnosis. Remembering his training, he initially assumed that the cut had affected all of the muscles in his wrist and he proceeded to examine all of them.

Since he was able to flex the distal phalangeal joints of his four medial digits and his thumb, he concluded the following muscles were uninjured?

► a) Flexor Carpi Radialis
► b) Palmaris Longus
► c) Flexor Digitorum Profundus
► d) Flexor Pollicus Longus
► e) Two of the above, Both Flexor Digigitorum Profundus and Flexor Pollicus Longus

Answer- e

7. He then concludes that the following nerve(s) to the muscle(s) must also be intact:

► a) Musculocutaneous
► b) Radial
► c) Ulnar
► d) Median
► e) Two of the above, both the Ulnar and Median Nerves must be intact

Answer- e

8. On further inspection, he notes an inability to flex the proximal interphalengeal joints of his four medial fingers. He concludes from the information that he has injured his:

► a) Palmaris Longus Muscle
► b) Flexor Carpi Radialis Muscle
► c) Flexor Digitorum Superficialis Muscle
► d) Flexor Carpi Ulnaris Muscle
► e) Two of the above

Answer- c

9. Rollerblading to class one morning without her wrist guards on Elizabeth hit a curb and fell onto her outstretched left hand) When she got to school, she noted tenderness in her wrist in the area of her anatomical snuffbox and was concerned she may have fractured one of the bones in her wrist.
The carpal bone forming part of the floor of the anatomical snuffbox, which is most often fractured, is the:

► a) Triquetral Bone
► b) Pisiform Bone
► c) Scaphoid Bone
► d) Lunate Bone

Answer- c

10. The medial wall of the anatomical snuffbox consists of the tendon from:

► a) Extensor Pollicus Brevis
► b) Flexor Pollicus Longus
► c) Flexor Carpi Radialis
► d) Extensor Pollicus Longus
► e) Abductor Pollicus Longus

Answer- d