Diseases A to Z Trivia Quiz

Answer: anhedonia

Anorexia, or loss of appetite, is also an indicator of depression. Apraxia usually occurs after a stroke, and relates to the inability to complete complex behaviors once done by second nature (e.g., buttoning a button). Anosmia is loss of the sense of smell.

Answer: brucellosis

Brucellosis is distinctly unusual in the US as cattle are screened for it. Goat milk is a more frequent source now. In other parts of the world, camel milk is a major contributor. Babesiosis is a protozoan illness transmitted by ticks, most commonly from Martha's Vineyard and surrounding locales. Borreliosis is relapsing fever, also transmitted by ticks (or lice).

Borna virus has been implicated by some researchers as being related to the development of human mental illness.

Answer: constipation

Obviously rash is another major symptom, but the missing "c" sound is Koplik's spots, which are seen very early in the disease as tiny spots inside the mouth on the mucous lining of the cheeks. If the patient doesn't look ill, it isn't measles - you feel fairly "measly" if you have it. The rash begins at the hairline and spreads downward.

Answer: dracunculiasis

Dracunculiasis is also called "fiery serpent," because the worms (which are up to 3 feet long) emerge from the lower legs of victims in a prolonged, painful process. The infection is contracted through contaminated water. The Carter Center and many international agencies have concentrated efforts to purify drinking water and educate people in the endemic areas about prevention.

The other options listed are real infections as well - Diphyllobothrium latum is a fish tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum is dog heartworm, and donovanosis is another name for granuloma inguinale, a sexually transmitted disease.

Answer: Ebola

Higher primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas are thought to be the reservoir for Ebola, but it is not certain. The other choices are real infections also, but they are not zoonoses.

Answer: felon

Interesting name for it, and I cannot determine whether the etymology is related to the term used for criminals. Felons (the fingertip kind) are extremely painful and require incision and drainage. Flexor tenosynovitis is infection of the tendon sheath, which may follow a felon.

A phlegmon is a stage of soft tissue infection before abscess formation, and is spelled with a "ph" not an "f". Flesh-eating bacteria is a newspaper term, not medical.

Answer: Giardia

The infection is rarely severe, and no blood is seen in the stools. It can be uncomfortable, and can keep children from properly absorbing nutrients, so it is usually treated with a course of antibiotics. Gardnerella is one of the causative agents of bacterial vaginosis, gnathostomiasis is a worm infection, and Guillain Barre syndrome is a neurologic disorder than usually occurs after a variety of infections.

Answer: hypoglycemia

Diabetes mellitus occurs when the body does not produce insulin (type I) or when the body does not respond properly to insulin (type II). This results in elevated blood glucose. In either type, overtreatment, or failure to eat properly while on treatment, can lead to hypoglycemia. Most diabetics recognize their symptoms when "low" and know to go eat something before it progresses to a dangerous point. Symptoms of high blood sugar are much different - thirst, increased urination, sleepiness.

Answer: influenza A

The "bird flu" that started spreading from Asia in the first part of the 21st century is also a strain of influenza A. There have been regular epidemics of flu, but the "Spanish" flu epidemic of 1918 was particularly devastating. Due to the miracles of modern genetic engineering, the 1918 virus has been sequenced from preserved tissues from that time.

The influenza viruses that circulate each year usually are different, due to "drifts" in the major surface proteins. Big epidemics happen when there is a big "shift" in these proteins rather than smaller changes.

The vaccine is reformulated each year to produce immunity to the strains of influenza A and B that are expected to circulate.

Answer: juvenile diabetes

Juvenile diabetes is a frequently used term but is considered obsolete - the proper term is type I diabetes mellitus. The reason for this shift is that children are being diagnosed in large numbers with "adult" diabetes, or type II diabetes, as a result of the obesity epidemic. Also, type I diabetes, which is caused by autoimmune destruction of the cells which produce insulin, may occur in adults as well as children.

Answer: kale

Most green, leafy vegetables have high amounts of vitamin K. Some patients mistakenly severely limit their intake of all green vegetables, in itself an unhealthy choice.

Answer: Lyme disease

If treated shortly after appearance of the rash, the other signs and symptoms will not occur. If ticks are removed promptly after attachment, the risk of infection is very low, even in areas where the rate of disease is high.

Answer: Marasmus

Kwashiorkor is protein-calorie malnutrition; the diet may be sufficient in starches, but not protein. This is the classic swollen-belly, stick legs and arms type of starvation we see on the news reports at refugee camps. Sadly, marasmus occurs worldwide; in wealthier countries, it is usually the result of neglect.

The alternate choices are real conditions - moya moya means "puff of smoke" in Japanese, it refers to a condition where the major blood vessels to the brain are not properly formed and a tangle of smaller vessels (which appear like a puff of smoke on a dye-based radiograph) takes over the job, increasing the risk of stroke. Minimata Bay disease refers to a disastrous industrial release of pollutants that led to widespread mercury poisoning. Munchausen's by proxy is diagnosed when the source of illness or symptoms in a patient is found to be due to the direct actions of a caregiver - the caregiver has a psychiatric illness, but the child or other vulnerable person suffers physically.

Answer: nosocomial

Bacterial infections acquired in a hospital or other healthcare facility are much more likely to be resistant to standard antibiotics than are infections acquired in the community. This is a major cause of added illness and cost. Common forms of nosocomial infection include urinary tract infections, wound infections and ventilator-associated pneumonias.

Answer: False

Nope, 29 is in the "overweight" range. Normal is 20-25, overweight is 25.1 to 29.9, obese is 30 or more. A BMI of 40 or more indicates morbid obesity, when more drastic measures (such as bariatric surgery) may be indicated. Obesity is now considered an "epidemic," in fact, a paper in the "New England Journal of Medicine" in 2007 suggests that it might be somewhat "contagious," in that people in shared social networks often develop similar degrees of obesity.

Answer: Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's is relatively common; the actor Michael J. Fox is affected and has spoken openly about the condition. The neurotransmitter dopamine is reduced, so medical treatments include drugs that replace dopamine or reduce its breakdown.

Answer: True

George Washington is thought to have died from complications of quinsy (some would say from the actions of his physicians treating his quinsy). The instrument used for tonsillectomies is sometimes referred to as a quinsy knife. The pus must be drained and antibiotics given; recurrent cases require tonsillectomy as well. (Ice cream! We're gonna eat ice cream! - for those old enough to recall Bill Cosby's tonsillectomy sketch)

Answer: rickettsia

So named for Howard Taylor Ricketts, who studied typhus (and later died from it). Typhus is different from typhoid, and rickettsia have nothing to do with rickets.

Answer: Sickle cell anemia

The abnormal hemoglobin molecules render the red blood cells less deformable, which leads to their early destruction and clumping in the small blood vessels. In spherocytosis, proteins in the red cell membrane are abnormal and the cells take on a sphere-shape instead of the normal "donut" shape.

In stomatocytosis, the red cells are cup shaped. Sideroblastic anemia results from a variety of abnormalities in the metabolism of heme.

Answer: Tourette syndrome

Simple tics are very common in childhood, and often slowly dissipate. Tourette's may be lifelong, but is amenable to treatment if severe (many people's symptoms are mild and do not necessarily require treatment). Affected patients have a higher rate of obsessive compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder than unaffected children. Recent streptococcal infection (e.g. "strep throat") may induce some tic disorders - studies of this association are ongoing.

Answer: Urticaria

Antihistamines are used to improve the symptoms - in most cases, the lesions will resolve within 48 hours. Hives are very common; it is estimated that 20% of people will experience them sometime in their life.

Answer: Vitamin B12

The anemia can be due to disease of the terminal small intestine where the vitamin is absorbed, or autoimmune destruction of the cells which make a cofactor necessary for its absorption or poor dietary intake of vitamin B12. "Pernicious anemia" specifically refers to the lack of the factor required for absorption; this "intrinsic factor" is produced in the stomach.

Answer: West Nile virus

Much media hype ensued upon arrival of the virus in new regions of the U.S. In reality, most people infected by the virus will be completely asymptomatic. The next most common manifestation is West Nile fever, which generally resolves without problem. West Nile meningitis is a little more severe in its presentation, but again most people recover completely. West Nile encephalitis is the worst manifestation, and unfortunately, survivors often suffer permanent neuropsychiatric sequelae.

Answer: abdominal CT (computed tomographic scan)

Radiation dose from Xrays is measured in millisieverts. The yearly exposure from background radiation is approximately 3 mSv/year. An abdominal CT is approximately 10 mSv, or about 3 years' worth of radiation. An IVP generates about 1.5-2.5 mSv, a chest radiograph about 0.1 mSv and a barium enema is another big dose at 7 mSv. (These doses vary somewhat depending on the size of the person, number of images taken and other variables.) Flying an airplane across the US is about the same as a chest radiograph, but not nearly as much as the other studies.

Answer: Yersin

The organism which causes plague is Yersinia pestis. Alexandre Emile John Yersin described the bacterium.