6th June 2008

1. Which of the following are true about the history of neurosurgery?
A. The history of trepanation dates back to the Neolithic period.
B. The earliest known writing dealing with surgical topics is the Ebers papyrus.
c. The writings of Hippocrates contain the first recorded descriptions of trepanation.
D. The three key developments that were necessary to permit successful intracranial and      intraspinal surgery were anesthesia, asepsis, and the concept of localization
     of different functions  in different areas of the nervous system.   
E.Victor Horsely of London was the first surgeon to specialize in neurosurgery.

2. The neurosurgeon who has had the most profound influence on the development
     of neurosurgery is/are
A. Fedor Krause of Germany.
B. William Macewen of Scotland.
C. Harvey Cushing of the United States.
D. Egas Moniz of Portugal.
E. Goeffrey Jefferson of England.

3.Which of the following conditions can be evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)?
A. Stroke is suspected in a patient with a cardiac pacemaker.
B. Computed tomography (CT) shows a skull base tumor.
C. A coma patient with CT-demonstrated subarachnoid hemorrhage and an aneurysmal clip.
D. A patient with intractable complex partial seizure.
E. A lung cancer patient whose plain film of the lumbar spine shows a compression fracture of      the L2 vertebral body.

4.Which of the following statements about neuroradiologic imaging modalities is/are correct?
A.Diffusion-weighted MRI can differentiate tumor from edema and identify the nonenhancing     part of the tumor.
B. For evaluating the stenosis of the carotid bifurcation, MR angiography (MRA) is the most      accurate imaging modality.
C. Myelography is still useful in detecting some diffuse spinal disease such as cerebrospinal fluid     (CSF) seeding.
D. For evaluating the bony detail of patients with facial trauma, CT is a better imaging modality      than MRI.
E. Decreased amount of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and increased amount of lactate can be shown      in the MR spectroscopy (MRS) of a patient with acute stroke.

5.Which of the following are true about intracranial tumors?
A. The most common location of brain tumors of childhood is the posterior cranial fossa.
B. With few exceptions, examination of the CSF is of no value in the diagnosis of an intracranial      tumor.
C. Even the most malignant of primary brain tumors seldom spread outside the confines of the      central nervous system (CNS).
D. The majority of astrocytomas can be cured surgically.
E. Primary neoplasms of astrocytic, oligodendroglial, or ependymal origin represent gradations      of a spectrum from slowly growing to rapidly growing neoplasms.