BGD 1...

12 noon today marked the end of Beginnings, Growth & Development (BGD) 1 for me... That means I'm done with 3/4 of 1st year med! Wow, time really flies fast... Before I know it, I'll be in 2nd year... Hehe, provided I don't flunk any papers... :p

Some of you may have had "fun" with my S&H1 exam questions so here's a post on some of the so-called "short answer" questions from BGD1...

(I can't remember the exact names and figures so some of them have been made up... Mind you, none of us can take back the question paper so all these are from memory; don't take them word for word!)

Question 1

Jane (seriously, that's the name they used! my name!) has been married to [some guy's name] for 4 years. Jane used the combined oral contraceptive pill for the 1st 3 years of her marriage. After the 3 years, both Jane and [husband's name] decided to start a family. After trying for 12 months, Jane finally got pregnant. Except for a little heartburn at times, Jane has no other problems with her health. However, in one of her recent routine check-ups, she has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus.

(a) Describe the mechanism of how the combined oral contraceptive pill works.

(b) What is a heartburn? How does this condition arise in Jane?

(c) How does gestational diabetes mellitus occur in a pregnant woman? In a poorly controlled case, what effects does gestational diabetes mellitus have on the baby?

(d) What are the natural fertility signs that Jane can use to help her get pregnant?

Question 2

(a)(i) Describe, using the aid of a diagram, the production of testosterone and the process of spermatogenesis in the testes. Write out the full names of the hormones; do not use abbreviations. Include in your answer also any feedback loops that regulate the processes.

(ii) What happens to the hormone levels if there is an excessive level of testosterone? What occurs as a result?

(iii) If there is damage to the testes, how does the hormone levels change and what effect do these changes have on the processes?

(b)(i) Describe the anatomical features of the female perineum, both superficial and deep.

(ii) In a vaginal delivery, episiotomy may sometimes have to be carried out to prevent further tearing in the perineum. Describe how you would perform such an episiotomy.

Question 3

(a)(i) Describe the role of the function of folic acid in human metabolism.

(ii) Explain how defect in the function of folic acid can lead to anaemia.

(iii) Explain how a deficiency in Vitamin B12 can lead to a similar anaemia.

(b) [There's a diagram for this question but since I can't "draw" the diagram, I'll just put up the main points of this diagram]

Stage 1: DNA (nucleus) --> RNA transcript (nucleus)
Stage 2: RNA transcript (nucleus) --> mRNA (nucleus)
Stage 3: mRNA (nucleus) --> mRNA (cytosol)
Stage 4: mRNA (cytosol) --> inactive mRNA (cytosol)
Stage 5: mRNA (cytosol) --> protein (cytosol)
Stage 6: protein (cytosol) --> inactive protein (cytosol)

(i) Describe briefly the processes that happen in each stage.

(ii) All the stages can be regulated for normal operation. Describe the regulation process for ONE stage which you consider to be the most important stage.

Question 4

(a)[Some gal's name] is 20 years old and has an active social schedule. She has a regular 28-day menstrual cycle. Recently, her urine test shows that she is pregnant. It has been 4 weeks since the 1st day of her last menstruation.

(i) Describe the normal embryological development of the embryo in [gal's name]'s body that occurs in the next 2 weeks.

(ii) What changes to [gal's name]'s lifestyle would you suggest to prevent risks to the developing embryo? How do these affect the risks?

(b)(i) Describe the main flux of fluid into and out of the amniotic cavity.

(ii) List the roles of the amniotic fluid.


There you go... The recommended time spent for each question is 25 minutes... Oh, and if you think the BGD1 paper only has these 4 questions, you're mistaken... There's still a whole chunk of "this question seems to have 2 answers" tricky MCQ questions. The paper lasts for 2.5 hours... Feel free to comment on what you think of the questions, how they compare to the S&H1 paper, etc... Have fun trying out the questions! :)