Practice Quiz - Joints of the Upper & Lower Limbs
    Below are written questions from previous quizzes and exams. Click here for a Practical Quiz - old format or Practical Quiz - new format.

  1. After ramming the point of his shoulder into a practice dummy, a football player suffered a severe shoulder separation. Although this is a dislocation of the acromioclavicular joint, several structures could be torn, including the one that gives the joint its greatest strength and stability, namely the:
    Acromioclavicular ligament
    Coracoacromial ligament
    Coracoclavicular ligament
    Supraspinatus tendon
    Tendon of the long head of biceps
  2. While doing arthrography of the shoulder joint it was noted that the contrast material flowed into the subacromial (subdeltoid) bursa, along the tendon of the subscapularis and along the proximal part of the tendon of the long head of the biceps. The finding of contrast in which area was abnormal?
    into the subacromial (subdeltoid) bursa
    along the tendon of the subscapularis
    along the proximal part of the tendon of the long head of the biceps
  3. While performing an arthrogram to study an apparent rotator cuff injury, it was noted that the contrast material had spread from the shoulder joint onto the anterior lateral surface of the scapula near the joint. When asked, the first year resident responded that this was due to an anterior tear in the cuff. Having just studied the shoulder joint you respond that the contrast is in a normal extension of the joint cavity called the:
    bicipital bursa.
    olecranon bursa.
    subacromial bursa.
    subscapular bursa.
    ulnar bursa.
  4. Which muscle contributes to the "rotator cuff"?
    Deltoid
    Latissimus dorsi
    Pectoralis Minor
    Supraspinatus
    Teres major
  5. A patient presented to his physician with chronic shoulder pain. It was noted that when asked to abduct his arm, he initially leaned laterally, and then straightened up. When iodinated contrast was injected into his shoulder joint it was found to be in the subdeltoid bursa as well as in the joint cavity. Which structure was damaged to produce the shoulder pain?
    Acromioclavicular ligament
    Long head of the biceps brachii muscle
    Subscapularis muscle
    Superior glenohumeral ligament
    Supraspinatus muscle
  6. The axis of rotation (pronation/supination) at the distal radioulnar joint is through the:
    Capitate bone
    Head of the radius
    Head of the ulna
    Styloid process of the radius
    Styloid process of the ulna
  7. A two year old child will not go to take her nap. Her mother tightly holds her left hand as she leads her to the bedroom. Refusing to go further, the child suddenly attempts to jerk away and then sits down screaming and holding her left elbow. In a attempt to calm her down her mother offers her a cookie, but she cannot supinate her left hand to receive it. Which joint was dislocated?
    the glenohumeral joint
    the humero-ulnar joint
    the humero-radial joint
    the proximal radio-ulnar joint
    the distal radio-ulnar joint
  8. You are in the emergency room when a student is brought in with a shoulder injury sustained while playing touch football. In comparing the symmetry of his two shoulders, you notice a marked elevation of the distal end of his clavicle with respect to the acromion on the injured side. X-ray exam reveals a grade III shoulder separation. In order for this to have occurred, which ligament must be torn?
    coracoacromial
    coracoclavicular
    costoclavicular
    superior glenohumeral
    transverse humeral
  9. A 3-year-old child walking hand-in-hand with her father screams in pain as he jerks her quickly up onto the curb to dodge a speeding car. The examining physician calls it a case of "pulled elbow", a dislocation sometimes seen in young children and caused by:
    The head of the radius slipping part way out of the annular ligament
    Tear of the common extensor tendon
    Stretching of the radioulnar interosseous membrane
    Tear of the ulnar collateral ligament
  10. A "pulled elbow" in a young child results when the radial head is dislodged from the:
    Annular ligament
    Insertion of biceps brachii
    Olecranon process
    Radial collateral ligament
    Ulnar collateral ligament
  11. The shoulder is most often dislocated in which direction?
    Anterior
    Inferior
    Posterior
    Superolateral
    Superomedial
  12. It was determined that a football player tore his coracoclavicular ligament. This is an example of a:
    Pulled elbow
    Rotator cuff tear
    Separated shoulder
    Dislocated shoulder
    Colles' fracture
  13. A father and child are about to step off a curb to cross a street when a car suddenly turns around the corner. In panic the father yanks on the child's arm to pull him out of the way of the car. Safe on the curb, the child screams in pain and holds his elbow. The diagnosis is "pulled elbow;" the head of the radius has been pulled out of the socket holding it against the radial notch of the ulna. In order for the head of the radius to be dislocated in this way, what ligament must be stretched or torn?
    Annular
    Glenoid labrum
    Interosseous
    Radial collateral
    Ulnar collateral
  14. While walking to class on an icy winter morning, a student slips and falls on her outstretched hand. The intense pain forces her to go to the emergency room. After X-rays of her wrist are taken, the attending says," You were lucky, there is no Colles' nor scaphoid fractures, but you have dislocated the middle carpal bone of the proximal row." Which bone was dislocated?
    Capitate
    Lunate
    Scaphoid
    Trapezoid
    Triquetrum
  15. The fibrocartilaginous structure which deepens the shoulder socket is the:
    Articular capsule
    Articular cartilage
    Glenoid labrum
    Lateral meniscus
    Superior glenohumeral ligament
  16. The synovial cavity of the glenohumeral joint communicates with the subdeltoid (subacromial) bursa after the rupture of the:
    Infraspinatus tendon
    Middle glenohumeral ligament
    Subscapularis tendon
    Supraspinatus tendon
    Long head of the biceps brachii tendon
  17. The interosseous membrane between the radius and ulna is the uniting structure in a type of fibrous joint classified as a:
    Suture
    Symphysis
    Synchondrosis
    Syndesmosis
    Synostosis
  18. An example of a temporary cartilaginous joint is a/an:
    articular disk.
    epiphyseal plate or growth plate.
    intervertebral disk.
    meniscus.
    primary ossification center.
  19. Which joint would be subject to synovitis (inflammation of the synovial membrane)?
    epiphyseal plate
    metacarpophalangeal
    pubic symphysis
    radioulnar syndesmosis
    suture
  20. Which of the following structures is unique to a synovial joint?
    Accessory ligaments
    Bursae
    Collateral ligaments
    Fibrocartilage
    Joint cavity
  21. An athlete has a knee injury, and the doctor performs a "drawer test" by pulling and pushing on the leg with the knee flexed. If the leg translates anteriorly, i. e. "gives" or moves anteriorly when the leg is pulled anteriorly, what joint structure is most likely injured?
    anterior cruciate ligament
    lateral collateral ligament
    medial collateral ligament
    medial meniscus
    posterior cruciate ligament
  22. In an auto accident, the patient's knee strikes the dashboard which in turn pushes the head of the femur posteriorly out of its socket. Which ligament is most likely ruptured by this posterior dislocation?
    iliofemoral
    ischiofemoral
    pubofemoral
    transverse acetabular
  23. To test the integrity of the knee joint, a physician pulls anteriorly on the flexed leg of his patient. This "drawer" test is positive if the leg moves excessively anteriorward. This would indicate a weakness in or rupture of the:
    medial meniscus
    posterior cruciate ligament
    fibular collateral ligament
    medial collateral ligament
    anterior cruciate ligament
  24. One of the menisci of the knee is often injured in a sprain of the knee because the:
    Anterior cruciate ligament is attached to the lateral meniscus
    Anterior cruciate ligament is attached to the medial meniscus
    Lateral collateral ligament is attached to the lateral meniscus
    Medial collateral ligament is attached to the medial meniscus
    Posterior cruciate ligament is attached to the lateral meniscus
  25. A soldier developed "fallen arches" from marching with a heavy pack in boots that lacked arch support. The ligament that normally supports the head of the talus and is primarily responsible for holding up the medial longitudinal arch of the foot is the:
    calcaneometatarsal
    deltoid
    long plantar
    plantar calcaneonavicular (spring)
    short plantar
  26. While water skiing in Florida following final exams, a medical student falls and twists her ankle. Her foot is forcibly everted, which could cause a sprain of which ligament?
    Anterior talofibular
    Anterior tibiofibular
    Calcaneofibular
    Deltoid
    Plantar calcaneonavicular (spring ligament)
  27. During the Orange Bowl, the national championship football game between Florida State and a team from a land-locked state, a player is blocked from behind during a kick-off return, injuring his medial collateral ligament. The team doctor tests his knee by pulling anteriorly on the leg with the knee flexed. If the leg translates (moves) forward significantly, this indicates damage to which structure?
    Anterior cruciate ligament
    Lateral collateral ligament
    Medial meniscus
    Medial collateral ligament
    Posterior cruciate ligament
  28. A young man involved in a head-on automobile collision had his flexed knee hit the dashboard of the car. He was later found to have a major instability of the knee, in that his tibia could be moved posteriorly relative to the femur. What ligament was likely damaged?
    Lateral collateral ligament
    Deltoid
    Medial collateral ligament
    Anterior cruciate ligament
    Posterior cruciate ligament
  29. During a basketball game, the center of the team went up for a rebound and when coming down, her foot landed on the foot of another player, sharply everting it. She limped off the floor, having severely sprained the medial side of her ankle. Which ligament was injured?
    Calcaneofibular
    Deltoid
    Short plantar ligament
    Plantar calcaneonavicular
    Tibial collateral ligament
  30. Which ligament limits extension at the hip joint?
    Iliofemoral
    Ligamentum capitis femorus
    Pubofemoral
    Zona orbicularis
  31. In injuries of the knee, the medial meniscus is frequently torn because it is firmly attached to which structure?
    Anterior cruciate ligament
    Fibular collateral ligament
    Tibial collateral ligament
    Patellar ligament
    Patellar retinaculum