Blood & Immune System — General Medicine

Blood & Immune System MCQs: practice questions

Sample Blood & Immune System multiple-choice questions from General Medicine.

1. A patient has thrombocytopenia with mucosal bleeding and petechiae. Which component of hemostasis is primarily affected?

   • A. Primary hemostasis
   • B. Fibrinolysis only
   • C. Secondary hemostasis
   • D. Complement activation
   • E. Erythropoiesis

2. A patient with a bleeding disorder has hemarthroses and a prolonged aPTT. Which type of hemostatic defect is most likely?

   • A. Primary hemostasis
   • B. Complement deficiency
   • C. Vascular spasm only
   • D. Secondary hemostasis
   • E. Platelet adhesion only

3. A patient with systemic lupus erythematosus develops glomerulonephritis and cytopenias. Which immune mechanism is central to many manifestations?

   • A. Mechanical vascular obstruction
   • B. Immune complex deposition
   • C. IgE-mediated mast-cell activation
   • D. Isolated T-cell absence
   • E. Direct bacterial invasion

4. A patient has pancytopenia, splenomegaly, and a dry bone marrow tap. Which disorder is characteristic?

   • A. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
   • B. Iron deficiency anemia
   • C. Polycythemia vera
   • D. Hairy cell leukemia
   • E. Multiple myeloma

5. A patient with chronic hemolysis develops an enlarged spleen. Which process best explains the splenomegaly?

   • A. Increased platelet dilution
   • B. Reduced macrophage activity
   • C. Reduced erythrocyte destruction
   • D. Increased renal erythropoietin only
   • E. Increased splenic removal of abnormal erythrocytes

6. A patient has autoimmune destruction of red cells by antibodies that react optimally at body temperature. Which disorder is most likely?

7. A patient has fatigue, infections, and bleeding with many circulating blasts. Which category of leukemia is most likely?

8. A patient with a hematologic malignancy develops recurrent bacterial infections and low antibody levels. Which mechanism best explains this finding?

9. A patient with plasma cell malignancy develops bone pain, anemia, renal dysfunction, and hypercalcemia. Which diagnosis is most likely?

10. A patient with a lymphoid malignancy develops hypogammaglobulinemia and recurrent bacterial infections. Which disease is particularly associated with this complication?

11. A patient develops lymphadenopathy, fever, and pruritus. Which feature would most strongly support Hodgkin lymphoma?

12. A patient with iron deficiency anemia is evaluated for the underlying cause. Which source is especially important to exclude in an adult with no obvious dietary explanation?

13. A child has recurrent bacterial infections and very low immunoglobulin levels. Which immune cell normally differentiates into antibody-producing plasma cells?

14. A patient has painless generalized lymphadenopathy and smudge cells on peripheral smear. Which diagnosis is most likely?

15. A patient has prolonged bleeding after minor trauma with a normal platelet count and prolonged aPTT. Which disorder is most likely?

16. A patient with hereditary spherocytosis develops anemia and jaundice. Which red-cell abnormality is characteristic?

17. A patient has prolonged PT and aPTT with thrombocytopenia, bleeding, and widespread microthrombi during severe sepsis. Which diagnosis is most likely?

18. A patient with macrocytic anemia also has paresthesias and impaired vibration sense. Which deficiency is most likely?

19. A patient has hemolytic anemia after exposure to an oxidant drug. Which enzyme deficiency is a classic cause?

20. A patient has episodic dark urine, pancytopenia, and thrombosis due to an acquired stem-cell defect. Which disorder is most likely?

21. A patient has myeloblasts containing Auer rods. Which diagnosis is most likely?

22. A patient has a chronic inflammatory disease and normocytic anemia with low serum iron but preserved iron stores. Which diagnosis is most likely?

23. A patient develops pancytopenia after exposure to a marrow-toxic agent. Bone marrow is markedly hypocellular. Which diagnosis is most likely?

24. A patient has fatigue, pallor, and microcytic hypochromic erythrocytes. Which deficiency is most likely?

25. A patient with recurrent infections has absent thymic tissue and low T-cell function. Which arm of immunity is primarily impaired?

26. A patient develops a rash, jaundice, and diarrhea several weeks after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. Which process is most likely?

27. A patient develops hemolysis in cold environments after Mycoplasma infection. Which antibody pattern is most likely?

28. A patient has a severe reaction after re-exposure to an antigen, with urticaria, wheezing, and hypotension. Which hypersensitivity type is most likely?

29. A patient has petechiae and prolonged bleeding time but normal PT and aPTT. Which mechanism is most likely?

30. A patient with sickle cell disease develops acute severe bone pain. Which process is responsible?