A 65-Year-Old with Persistent Diarrhea Is Found to Be Severely

question 3

Multiple Choice

A 65-year-old with persistent diarrhea is found to be severely underweight and to have a hematocrit of 26% with mean corpuscular volume of 110 fl. Her peripheral blood smear shows oversized red blood cells with bizarre shapes. What is the most likely cause of her anemia?

• A)Iron deficiency due to intestinal blood loss
• B)Absence of erythropoietin because of poor nutrition
• C)Gastrointestinal cancer
• D)Deficiency of folate, and potentially also vitamin B₁₂
• E)Aplastic anemia

---

Definitions:

Neural Networks

Computational models designed to simulate the way the human brain processes information, often used in artificial intelligence applications.

Operant Conditioning

A method of learning that employs rewards and punishments for behavior, influencing the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.

Chattel

Personal property that can be moved, often used historically to refer to slaves as property.

Jamestown Census

The historical recordings of the population and demographic information of the Jamestown settlement, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, established in Virginia in 1607.