Challenge your diagnostic acumen: Study the following x-ray images, electrocardiograms, and photographs and consider what your diagnosis might be in each case. While the images presented here are authentic, the patient cases are hypothetical.
28-Year-Old Female With Rolled Right Ankle
Figure 1. Initial X-ray A 28-year-old female presents to urgent care complaining of right ankle pain after awkwardly stepping off a high curb, subsequently rolling her ankle while running outside earlier today. She is unable to bear weight on her ankle. She has no past medical history, takes no medications regularly, and has not tried any treatments since the injury. Physical exam reveals she is afebrile with normal vital signs, and she has marked tender edema to the lateral malleolus. Pain is elicited with all planes of ankle range of …
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63-Year-Old Female With Growth on Scalp
A 63-year-old woman visits urgent care with the chief complaint of an asymptomatic scabby growth on her scalp that developed 10 months prior and is gradually getting larger. The patient has no systemic symptoms and is otherwise well. She has a history of working as a welder in a metal fabrication plant for the past 35 years. On dermatological examination, an eroded and crusted plaque is seen on the frontal scalp. A punch biopsy reveals strands and cords of epithelial cells with prominent nuclear atypia, squamous pearls, and pleomorphic and …
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86-Year-Old With Palpitations
Figure 1. Initial ECGCase presented by Catherine Reynolds, MD, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston …
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28-Year-Old Male With Suspected Shoulder Dislocation
Image 1. A 28-year-old male with history of left shoulder dislocations presents to urgent care with severe left shoulder pain. He reports an inability to move the arm after injuring his shoulder while taking off his shirt. He reports feeling the shoulder “shift out of place” during the movement. On examination, the patient is in significant discomfort. He is holding the left arm in slight abduction with left shoulder external rotation. His elbow is flexed and his forearm is pronated. There is no obvious left upper extremity deformity. The left …
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12-Year-Old Boy With Left Groin and Buttock Pain
A 12-year-old male presents to urgent care with his mother for left groin and buttock pain since acute onset while running in a track meet earlier today. He reports that he felt a pop while running a sprint race and was subsequently unable to finish the race or bear weight on his left leg due to pain. He has no other past medical history and takes no medications. Physical exam reveals that he is afebrile with normal vital signs besides an elevated heart rate at 108 bpm. He is visibly …
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