Name: ______
Period: ______
Date: ______
Differential Diagnosis Day – Muscular System
Imagine you are a medically licensed and board certified physician who has just opened up his own practice in the area. The following are patient profiles from various patients that have come into your office for a diagnosis. Use your deductive reasoning skills and what you have learned about the muscular system to decide which medical condition is causing their current problems.
Patient #1
Age: 27 y/o Sex: Female History: Beginning Runner
A young woman comes into your office complaining of pain in both of her calves. She tells you that she just began a running program over the last two weeks. She has been running about 1-2 miles a day, but has just started getting the pain the last few days. You ask about her stretching routine, and she states she doesn’t normally stretch before or after her runs. You also ask what she eats and drinks after she exercises. She states she only drinks water and has been on a new diet that is high in protein but low in some vitamins and minerals.
What is your diagnosis?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?
Patient #2
Age: 8 Sex: Male History: None
A young boy is brought into your office by his parents. They are worried about their son because he seems to fall down quite a bit when he is playing outside with his older brother. You check him out, and his muscles appear to be larger than normal but otherwise you cannot see any problems. You run him through some tests including checking his gait (how he walks) and find that his muscle strength is well below where it should be for his age.
What is your diagnosis?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the parents?
Patient #3
Age: 57 y/o Sex: Male History: None
An older man comes into your office complaining about feeling weak and tired constantly. He has never felt this way before, but it has been worsening over the past few weeks. He says he has also had difficulty swallowing and it takes more effort to talk. You also notice that the patient’s right eyelid is drooping.
What is your diagnosis?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?
Patient #4
Age: 20 Sex: Male History: Bodybuilder
A very muscular young man comes into your office complaining about severe pain on the back of his left leg. He tells you he was working out in the gym doing squats when the pain came on suddenly. You check out the back of his leg and notice a severe discoloring and bruising all the way down the leg.
What is your diagnosis? What muscles/muscle groups are likely to be affected?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?
Patient #5
Age: 52 Sex: Male History: Hunter
An older man comes into your office complaining of weakness and fatigue. He has also been suffering from nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain for the last week. You ask a little about his history, and he tells you he just returned from a hunting trip in West Texas. When you ask him what he was hunting for, he tells you he hunted and killed wild boar. The hunter tells you he killed them and then turned the meat into a boar sausage which he was told was delicious. It was his first time making sausage from wild boar, but it tasted good enough.
What is your diagnosis?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?
Patient #6
Age: 6 month old Sex: Female History: None
A young mother brings in her newborn daughter to your office. She tells you she saw a weird looking lump on the right side of her neck. You palpate the neck and can feel the abnormality. The mother is worried that it is a tumor and it is causing her daughter’s head to constantly lean to the left. You do not think it’s a tumor, but something else entirely.
What is your diagnosis? What muscle does this affect specifically?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?
Patient #7
Age: 14 y/o Sex: Male History: Beginning football player
A high school student is brought into your office by his parents. He is complaining of muscle soreness all over his body that will not seem to get better. He tells you that he just joined the football team and part of the workout has been to use the weight room after practice. He has never lifted before, but the muscle soreness didn’t start until two days after.
What is your diagnosis?
Why do you think this is correct?
What would be your recommendation to the patient?