These questions are similar to those asked on the American Board of Surgery Recertification Examination. You can use them to prepare for the examination, fulfill learning requirements for various maintenance of competence programs, or simply improve your surgical knowledge.

1. The characteristic feature of Crohn's colitis that best distinguishes the clinical entity from ulcerative colitis is
a) Perianal disease
b) Rectal bleeding
c) Risk of malignancy
d) Obstructive symptoms
e) Pseudopolyps

2. The caudate hepatic lobe
a) Is the most ventral portion of the liver
b) Is a segment of the right lobe
c) Is segment VII
d) Embraces the inferior vena cava at its anterior surface
e) Has a unique multivessel hepatic venous drainage

3. In the acute treatment of trauma victims with unstable pelvic fractures, pneumatic antishock garments (PSAGs)
a) Are more effective than external fixators
b) Should NOT be deflated as the patient arrives in the emergency de­partment
c) Have no effect on diaphragmatic excursion
d) Are technically difficult to apply safely
e) Decrease lower extremity venous return

4. At admission with alcoholic pancreatitis, Ranson's prognostic signs include all of the following, except:
a) Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) >350 IU/L
b) White blood cell count >16,000/mm³
c) Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) > 250 U/100 mL
d) Blood glucose >200 mg/100 mL
e) Serum calcium <8 mg/dL

5. Metastatic lesions to the bone
a) Present primarily with hypercalcemia
b) If lytic, are likely due to prostate cancer
c) Invariably require operative stabilization
d) Are best treated with radiation and chemotherapy
e) Most frequently occur in the pelvis

6. Overwhelming postsplenectomy infection (OPSI) a) Occurs more frequently after resection for trauma than hematologic disease
b) Occurs with equal frequency in children and adults
c) Is most frequently caused by Strep­tococcus pneumoniae
d) Usually occurs within 2 years after splenectomy
e) Generally has an identifiable site of infection

7. The ankle-brachial index (ABI)
a) Is normally 0.8 to 0.9
b) Is falsely elevated by extensive vascular calcification
c) Is a reliable indicator of small vessel disease in diabetic patients
d) Measures arterial flow
e) Is not useful for monitoring the progression of arterial occlusive disease

8. Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis is likeliest to occur in a(n)
a) Firstborn child
b) African-American infant
c) Child 6 to 9 months of age
d) Female infant
e) Infant born prematurely

Web-only Questions
9. Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is best treated by
a) Aggressive normal saline administration
b) Fluid restriction
c) Furosemide
d) Indomethacin
e) Hypertonic (3%) saline

10. Parietal cell (highly selective) vagotomy
a) Is not appropriate as a component of the treatment of perforated duodenal ulcer
b) Most frequently fails because too much of the lesser curvature is denervated
c) Has a high incidence of dumping syndrome
d) Is associated with a 10% to 15 % ulcer recurrence rate
e) Is effective in the management of obstructing ulcer

11. The most common cause of pneumothorax is
a) Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
b) Iatrogenic-mechanical ventilation with positive-end expiratory pressure (PEEP)
c) Penetrating injury
d) Primary (spontaneous)
e) Iatrogenic-central line placement

12. Sporadic medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (MCT)
a) Rarely metastasizes
b) Is associated with a well-characterized chromosome abnormality
c) Is best treated by total thyroidectomy
d) Is endocrinologically inactive
e) Generally does not require modified radical neck dissection