Biological Sciences Case Study: Answering Questions on Patient Health

This case study focuses on a 60-year-old male patient, Mr. Smith, previously diagnosed with prostate cancer, who presents with new symptoms of weakness, fatigue, and headaches. The case details the process of physical examination, laboratory tests (including blood glucose, K+, hemoglobin level, HCO3, urinary K+, serum aldosterone, urinary aldosterone, rennin, cortisol, ACTH, hematocrit and platelet count), and imaging procedures (CT scan and MRI) used to assess Mr. Smith's condition. The analysis includes interpretation of lab results, highlighting deviations from normal ranges and their clinical significance, such as indicators of diabetes, acid-base imbalance, stress, and elevated aldosterone. The study also compares and contrasts CT scans and MRI, explaining how these imaging techniques aid in diagnosing metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma. Ultimately, the case demonstrates the application of the scientific method in diagnosing health disorders, monitoring disease progression, and informing treatment strategies. This assignment is available on Desklib, where students can find similar solved case studies and past papers.

Running head: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Case Scenario- Question and Answers
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Answer 1
Physical examination refers to the process of evaluating anatomic findings. Several
components that help in diagnosing a disease include the following:
 Disease history determination- Data on history of symptom are collected such as, onset,
duration and relief. Interviewing the patient on medical, social, work and family
conditions helps in determining the history of the disease.
 Physical examination- Physical signs such as facial expression, posture, mobility and
responsiveness are measured. The physician conducts examination of vital signs (heart
rate, BP, RR, temperature), auscultation (using stethoscope for listening heart, lungs and
bowel movement), percussion (tapping on abdomen and chest for checking presence of
excess air and fluids), and palpation (determining size and consistency of organs).
 Laboratory tests and procedures- Imaging techniques, nuclear scans, ultrasound and other
tests are carried out to further refine the diagnosis of the disorder.
 Sore throat differential diagnosis- This test is conducted due to the frequent complaints of
common cold caused by bacteria or viral infection. Differential diagnosis helps in
deciding whether antibiotics should be administered.
Answer 2
A medical provider wraps a proper sized blood pressure cuff around upper arm. The
lower edge of cuff is kept an inch above antecubital fossa and the stethoscope’s bell is pressed
over brachial artery. The cuff is inflated to 180mm Hg rapidly, releasing air at a moderate speed.

2BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
The sphygmomanometer is observed along with listening to the stethospcope (Dasgupta et al.,
2014).
Numerator represents systolic pressure and denominator represents diastolic pressure.
Mr.Smith’s BP (160/100mm Hg) is higher than normal.
This can be determined by the fact that both systolic and diastolic pressure levels are
above the general range of 120/80 mm Hg.
Answer 3
The laboratory tests performed include blood glucose, K+, haemoglobin level, HCO3,
urinary K+, serum aldosterone, urinary aldosterone, rennin, cortisol, ACTH, haematocrit and
platelet count.
Blood and urine sample were collected from the patient.
An ACTH blood test was conducted to determine levels of ACTH and cortisol hormone
in the blood. This was performed to screen problems in adrenal or pituitary glands (Lee et al.,
2013).
The physician expected the results to help determine prevalence of an adrenal or pituitary
tumor in the patient.
Answer 4
Values for K+, haematocrit, haemoglobin, and platelet count are below the normal
ranges. Higher levels are observed for HCO3, blood glucose, ACTH and cortisol tests. Only
urinary K+, serum aldosterone, rennin and 24 hour urinary aldosterone fall within the normal

3BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
ranges (McPherson & Pincus, 2017). These variations indicate diabetis, acid-base imbalance,
stress and higher aldosterone.
Answer 5
Mr. Smith was subjected to CT scan and MRI for diagnosing his condition.
Similarities:
 Both are used to create contrasting images of body organs
 Contrast dye are used in both for generating images (Rorden et al., 2012)
Differences:
 MRI does not emit ionizing radiations and are expensive
 CT scan is less sensitive to movement
 CT might have risks of irradiation (Drzezga et al., 2012)
 MRI provides a more detailed image of softer tissues
The imaging procedures helped in determining the presence of metastatic prostrate
adenocarcinoma that is an advanced form.
Answer 6
Hypertension- More commonly known as high blood pressure refers to the chronic
medical condition where there is an elevation in pressure of the blood flowing through arteries.
(Mills et al., 2016)
The laboratory findings and imaging procedures helped in checking abnormalities in the
several constituents of blood and urine, thereby detecting presence of metabolic alkalosis and

4BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
hypokalemia. Conducting the imaging techniques gave images of the body organs that confirmed
presence of prostrate adenocarcinoma.
This scientific method helps medical providers identify the nature and cause of health
disorders. Exact values of several essential constituents of blood and urine help to monitor
progress of the disease thereby facilitating the course of treatment.

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References
Dasgupta, K., Quinn, R. R., Zarnke, K. B., Rabi, D. M., Ravani, P., Daskalopoulou, S. S., ... &
Prebtani, A. (2014). The 2014 Canadian Hypertension Education Program
recommendations for blood pressure measurement, diagnosis, assessment of risk,
prevention, and treatment of hypertension. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 30(5), 485-
501. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2014.02.002
Drzezga, A., Souvatzoglou, M., Eiber, M., Beer, A. J., Fürst, S., Martinez-Möller, A., ... &
Schwaiger, M. (2012). First clinical experience with integrated whole-body PET/MR:
comparison to PET/CT in patients with oncologic diagnoses. Journal of Nuclear
Medicine, 53(6), 845-855. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.111.098608
Lee, M. K., Vasikaran, S., Doery, J. C., Wijeratne, N., & Prentice, D. (2013). Cortisol: ACTH
ratio to test for primary hypoadrenalism: a pilot study. Postgraduate medical journal,
89(1057), 617-620. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/postgradmedj-2012-131723
McPherson, R. A., & Pincus, M. R. (2017). Henry's Clinical Diagnosis a-nd Management by
Laboratory Methods E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences, 84-102. Retrieved from-
https://books.google.co.in/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=xAzhCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=McPherson,+R.+A.,+
%26+Pincus,+M.+R.+(2017).+Henry%27s+Clinical+Diagnosis+a-
nd+Management+by+Laboratory+Methods+E-Book.+Elsevier+Health+Sciences,+84-
102.&ots=mFQnIb22yK&sig=WoiUfMrIic9JNvxMRkWlxjV4Qag#v=onepage&q&f=fal
se

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Mills, K. T., Bundy, J. D., Kelly, T. N., Reed, J. E., Kearney, P. M., Reynolds, K., ... & He, J.
(2016). Global Disparities of Hypertension Prevalence and ControlClinical Perspective:
A Systematic Analysis of Population-Based Studies From 90 Countries. Circulation,
134(6), 441-450. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.018912
Rorden, C., Bonilha, L., Fridriksson, J., Bender, B., & Karnath, H. O. (2012). Age-specific CT
and MRI templates for spatial normalization. Neuroimage, 61(4), 957-965.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.020