Your patient is a 15 year old female who is married and just delivered a baby boy who is 2 days old. The mother of the baby would like to place him up for adoption. By law, who has the authority to make the decision about placing the child up for adoption? Your patient is […]

A 59-year-old woman presents with 6 months of bilateral hand and wrist joint pain. It is associated with morning stiffness that lasts at least 2 hours. She has had an involuntary weight loss of 4.4 kg (10 lb) in the past 3 months and low-grade fevers. Her past medical history is unremarkable, and she takes […]

A 55-year-old man presents to a rheumatologist with bilateral wrist and knee pain that has slowly progressed over the last 10 years. His joint pain gets worse with use and improves a little with rest. He also notes morning stiffness that lasts approximately 20 minutes. The patient was a professional athlete who retired at age […]

A 26-year-old man presents to the office complaining of persistent back pain for the past three months. You saw the patient previously and prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and rest, but he has not improved. The man states that his maternal grandfather had “back problems his whole life,” and he worries that he might have […]

A 34-year-old man presents with back pain for the past 6 months. His pain is associated with morning stiffness, and it actually improves with exercise but not with rest. His back pain bothers him most at night. He also has pain in his left ankle. Family history is negative for rheumatologic diseases. On physical examination, […]

A 67-year-old man presents with frequent headaches for the past month that localize unilaterally to the left temple and occasionally radiate to the left eye. He has associated symptoms of fatigue, involuntary weight loss, and pain with chewing. His past medical history is significant for hypertension. Current medications include lisinopril. On physical examination, a small […]