MRCP Part 1 Self-Assessment

Medical Masterclass Questions and Explanatory Answers

John D Firth, Mark Newman

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781846192272
• eBook ISBN:
  9781315346960
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Internal Medicine & Diagnosis

"MRCP Part 1 Self-Assessment" is the perfect revision aid. Drawn from the highly successful Medical Masterclass material from the Royal College of Physicians of London, this concise volume is specifically designed to cover the topics and format found in the Membership to the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) Part 1 examination. The large scale, lavishly illustrated, full-colour format makes it easy to comprehend complex topics. With contributions from an extensive list of prestigious and authoritative professionals, the questions cover all areas of assessment, including the scientific background the medicine, general clinical skills, acute medicine and a range of specialties. It is ideal for examination MRCP candidates, doctors preparing for the European Diploma in internal medicine and junior doctors wanting to revise their knowledge and skills.'This collection of self-assessment questions and explanatory answers has been drawn from Medical Masterclass, which is produced and published by the Royal College of Physicians of London. The questions have been specifically written to help doctors in their first few years of training to test and revise their medical knowledge and skills; and in particular to pass postgraduate examinations, such as the MRCP(UK)' - John D Firth, in the Introduction.

Questions

Genetics and molecular medicine

Timothy J Vyse

Answers are on pp. 125–126.

Question 1
In the field of molecular biology, the term imprinting means:

A the tendency of some diseases to get more severe as they pass from generation to generation

B that two genes are associated and therefore inherited together

C the differential expression of alleles contingent on their parental origin

D that one allele of a gene is not expressed

E that a gene is inherited from the mitochondrial genome

Question 2
In the field of molecular biology, the term recombination means the:

A coming together of chromosomes at meiosis

B separation of chromosomes at mitosis

C combination of alleles from both parents at fertilisation

D production of genetic combinations not found in either of the parents

E tendency of some genetic disorders to run true in families

Question 3
In the field of molecular biology, if a putative gene for a disease trait and a known genetic locus are linked with a LOD score of 3.0, this means the probability that the putative gene is linked to the known genetic locus is:

A 3 : 1

B 300 : 1

C 1,000 : 1

D 3,000 : 1

E 3,000,000 : 1

Question 4
In the field of molecular biology, a codon is a:

A 3-base pair unit of DNA that codes for an amino acid

B 3-base pair unit of RNA that codes for an amino acid

C 4-base pair unit of DNA that codes for an amino acid

D 4-base pair unit of RNA that codes for an amino acid

E 4-base pair unit of DNA that codes for a 4-base pair unit of RNA

Question 5
In the field of molecular biology, the term ‘TATA box’ refers to:

A a DNA sequence often found in the promoter element (start) of a gene

B a DNA sequence often found in the transcriptional stop site (end) of a gene

C an RNA sequence often found at the 5 prime end (start) of an RNA message

D an RNA sequence often found at the 3 prime end (finish) of an RNA message

E a DNA sequence that leads to splicing of an RNA transcript.

Question 6
A Mendelian X-linked dominant condition would be transmitted to:

A all of the sons of an affected woman

B all children of an affected man

C none of the sons of an affected woman

D all of the sons of an affected man

E half of the daughters of an affected woman

Question 7
Regarding the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which one of the following statements is true?

A PCR can be used directly on any form of nucleic acid to obtain multiple copies thereof

B PCR is not of diagnostic use, as the enzyme employed in the reaction is very prone to error

C PCR utilises DNA polymerases that are stable at low temperature but denature at high temperature

D PCR is a useful means of characterising genetic markers

E PCR results in a linear amplification of starting material, so that after 30 cycles of PCR the amount of material generated would be 30 times the amount of starting material

Question 8
Considering the use of animal models in the investigation of human genetic disease, which one of the following statements is correct?

A primates are widely used to model human genetic disease

B mice are a good model for a range of human central nervous system diseases

C a transgenic mouse is one in which a critical region of a gene has been removed so that the gene product exerts no or little function

D making a ‘knock-out’ mouse involves deleting or altering a gene sequence in an unfertilised egg

E large regions of human and rodent genomes encode structurally and functionally related genes

Question 9
Consider the scenario of two separate genetic loci A and B, where each locus carries two possible alleles. If these two loci A and B are in linkage disequilibrium, which one of the following statements is true?

A the four alleles at A and B are inherited independently provided that the population is of sufficient size

B the inheritance of an allele at A will almost certainly exclude the inheritance of one of the alleles at B

C it is most likely that the least common alleles will be in linkage disequilibrium

D the loci A and B are likely to be linked

E patterns of linkage disequilibrium in a northern European population will, in the vast majority of cases, be reproduced in a northern Indo-Asian population

Question 10
Considering the structure of nucleic acids, which one of the following statements is true?

A in DNA the two purine bases pair with one another, and the two pyrimidine bases pair with one another

B in RNA, the 2’ and 3’ carbon atoms of ribose are hydroxylated

C DNA is inherently more unstable than RNA

D when RNA is copied (transcribed) from DNA, a guanine copies cytosine, and a thymine copies adenine

E in non-sex chromosomes (autosomes) both maternal and paternal alleles always contribute to the gene product

Biochemistry and metabolism

Fiona M Gribble

Answers are on pp. 126–128.

Question 11
Amino acids are linked together in proteins by peptide bonds, which are:

A bonds between the carboxylic acid group of one amino acid and the amino group of the next

B bonds between the amino group of one amino acid and the amino group of the next

C bonds between the carboxylic acid group of one amino acid and the carboxylic acid group of the next

D bonds between alternating purine and pyrimidine amino acids

E hydrogen bonds between side chains of amino acids

Question 12
Which one of th...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• List of contributors
• Questions
• Answers
• Index