Free Arthritis MCQs with Answers

1. Osteoarthritis is caused by

• A. an autoimmune attack on the synovial membrane
• B. deposition of uric acid crystals in the joint
• C. gradual wear and degeneration of the articular cartilage
• D. bacterial infection of the joint cavity

Explanation: Osteoarthritis is a mechanical, degenerative condition in which the articular cartilage thins with age and use until bone rubs on bone, so it strikes the weight bearing knee and hip of older and overweight people first. Autoimmune attack on the synovial membrane is rheumatoid arthritis, a different disease with a different cause, and uric acid deposition is gout.

2. Rheumatoid arthritis is best described as

• A. a purely degenerative disease of old age
• B. an autoimmune inflammation of the synovial membrane
• C. a deficiency of calcium in the diet
• D. a fungal infection of the bone marrow

Explanation: In rheumatoid arthritis the immune system attacks the body's own synovial membrane, which becomes inflamed and thickened and eventually destroys the cartilage and bone beneath, so treatment aims at suppressing immunity rather than at replacing cartilage. It typically affects the small joints of the hands symmetrically and can begin in young adults, unlike osteoarthritis. Calcium deficiency causes rickets and osteomalacia instead.

3. The severe joint pain of gout, most often felt in the big toe, is caused by the deposition of

• A. calcium phosphate
• B. cholesterol
• C. collagen fibres
• D. sodium urate crystals

Explanation: Gout follows a raised blood level of uric acid, the end product of purine breakdown, which crystallises as sodium urate in a cool peripheral joint and provokes intense inflammation. This is why treatment lowers uric acid production or increases its excretion and why purine rich foods such as red meat and organ meat are restricted. Calcium salts harden bone rather than inflame joints.

4. Arthritis is:

• A. Inflammation of joints
• B. Herniation of intervertebral disc
• C. Fusion of vertebral joint
• D. Tingling along the length of legs

Explanation: The word itself means inflammation of a joint, from arthron for joint and itis for inflammation, and it covers osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout despite their very different causes. A herniated disc is a slipped disc pressing on a nerve, which produces the tingling described in the last option. Reading the suffix is often enough with medical terms of this kind.