A 30-Year-Old Woman Comes to the Office Due to Increasing

question 46

Multiple Choice

A 30-year-old woman comes to the office due to increasing muscle weakness.  The patient has not been able to grip her coffee mug or open jars due to weakness in her hands.  She has also had some loss of sensation in the upper extremities that has caused her to cut herself while doing craft projects.  The patient was in a motor vehicle collision 7 years ago in which she sustained a whiplash cervical spine injury.  She has no other medical conditions.  BMI is 22 kg/m².  Physical examination reveals moderate wasting of the small muscles of the hand.  Bilateral upper extremities have impaired pain and temperature sensation.  Light touch, vibration, and position senses are all intact.  Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis in this patient?

• A)Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• B)Cervical spondylosis
• C)Intervertebral disk prolapse
• D)Multiple sclerosis
• E)Syringomyelia

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Definitions:

Marginal Propensity to Save

The fraction of an increase in income that is saved by an individual or population, representing how savings change with changes in disposable income.

Consumption Function

The consumption function is an economic formula that represents the relationship between total consumption and gross national income, predicting consumer spending.

Marginal Propensity to Consume

The ratio of change in consumption to the change in disposable income, indicating how much income will be spent rather than saved.

Investment

Investment involves allocating resources, such as capital or time, in the expectation of generating a profit or benefit in the future.