A 38-Year-Old Man Is Evaluated Due to a 2-Year History

question 69

Multiple Choice

A 38-year-old man is evaluated due to a 2-year history of gradually worsening low back pain, bilateral buttock pain, and stiffness.  Symptoms are worse in the morning and relieved with stretching and hot showers.  The patient also has fatigue but no fever, chills, night sweats, or weight loss.  Vital signs are normal.  The patient appears healthy but has a stooped walking posture.  Deep palpation over the lumbar spine at the midline and both sacroiliac joints elicits tenderness.  Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is 75 mm/hr.  Which of the following pathologic findings is most likely causing this patient's symptoms?

• A)Areas of bony erosions and new bone formation
• B)Areas of spindle cells and dysplastic bone
• C)Areas of trabecular and cortical bone thickening
• D)Disc protrusion and thickening of the ligamentum flava
• E)Plasma cell infiltrate in bone marrow

---

Definitions:

Valuation Model

A financial model that determines the present value of an asset or business, based on variables such as cash flows and growth rates.

Restructuring

The process of reorganizing a company's structure, operations, or finances with the aim of increasing profitability or efficiency.

Horizon Value

The estimated value of a company or investment at the end of a specified period, taking into account all future cash flows beyond that point.

Weighted Average

A calculation that takes into account the varying degrees of importance of the numbers in a data set, based on assigned weights.