USMLE STEP1 Exam (page: 19)
USMLE Step1
Updated on: 15-Feb-2026

Viewing Page 19 of 171

Which of the following statements concerning muscle spindles is correct?

  1. Activation of type Ia sensory fibers from a given spindle leads to inhibition of the muscle in which that spindle is located.
  2. Alpha motoneurons synapse directly with intrafusal muscle fibers.
  3. Each intrafusal fiber is innervated by two different gamma motoneurons.
  4. Only one type of intrafusal muscle fiber (cell) is present in most muscle spindles.
  5. Type Ia sensory fibers from a spindle form direct synaptic contact with alpha motoneurons in the spinal cord.

Answer(s): E

Explanation:

The type Ia sensory fibers from a spindle form direct excitatory synapses with alpha motoneurons.
Activation of type Ia sensory fibers (choice A) leads to excitation of the muscle in which that spindle is located. Alpha motoneurons (choice B) synapse with extrafusal muscle fibers, whereas gamma motoneurons synapse with intrafusal muscle fibers. Each intrafusal muscle fiber (choice C) is innervated by only one gamma motoneuron. Each muscle spindle contains a mixture of both nuclear bag and nuclear chain intrafusal fibers, not just one type as indicated in choice D.



Which of the following is characteristic of damage to the corticospinal (pyramidal) system?

  1. Babinski's sign
  2. flaccid paralysis and hypotonia
  3. immediate muscle degeneration and atrophy
  4. intention tremor
  5. loss of deep tendon reflexes

Answer(s): A

Explanation:

The Babinski sign--dorsiflexion of the great toe in response to stroking the plantar aspect of the foot-- is a characteristic sign of pyramidal tract involvement. Signs and symptoms of corticospinal tract injury that are nearly always apparent to some degree include spastic paralysis, hypertonia, loss of deep tendon reflexes, and hyperactive abdominal and cremasteric reflexes. Flaccid paralysis and hypotonia (choice B) are commonly seen following lower motoneuron injury, as is loss of deep tendon reflexes (choice E). Muscle degeneration and atrophy (choice C) are not characteristic symptoms of corticospinal tract damage. The presence of an intention tremor (choice D) is a sign of cerebellar damage, and is not seen with corticospinal tract lesions.



Cilia are anchored to the apical portion of certain types of epithelial cells and they are mobile. Which of the following form the motile cytoskeletal component of the cilia?

  1. intermediate filaments
  2. microfilament
  3. microtubule
  4. neurofilament
  5. tonofilaments

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

Acilium is formed by a concentric array of nine microtubule doublets surrounding a central pair of microtubules (9 + 2 organization). Intermediate filaments (choice A) are intermediate in diameter size (10 nm) between the microtubules (25 nm) and the microfilaments (7 nm). They do not confer motility to the cilia. They instead participate in the cytoskeletal integrity of nerve cells, neurofilaments (choice D) or hemidesmosomes, tonofilaments (choice E). Microfilaments (choice B) are found in microvilli and stereocilia.



A 79-year-old female patient was admitted to the hospital, presenting with fever, vomiting, dehydration, and distension of the abdomen. An X-ray reveals ileus and exploratory surgery reveals occlusion of vasa recta of the jejunum. Which of the following arteries supply branches to the involved vasa recta?

  1. ileocolic artery
  2. inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery
  3. right colic artery
  4. right gastroepiploic artery
  5. superior mesenteric artery

Answer(s): E

Explanation:

Ileus is obstruction of the intestine, in this case due to paralysis resulting from ischemia. The jejunum receives its vascular supply from jejunal branches arising from the superior mesenteric artery. The ileocolic artery (choice A) supplies the ileum, ileocolic junction, and the appendix. The inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (choice B) provides vascular innervations to the pancreas and duodenum, and forms the anastomosis between the foregut and midgut. The right colic artery (choice C) supplies the ascending colon and the right gastroepiploic artery (choice D) the greater curvature of the stomach and greater omentum.



Which of the following is directly involved with the descending modulation of pain transmission?

  1. dopamine
  2. MLF
  3. nucleus raphe magnus
  4. rubrospinal fibers
  5. ventral lateral thalamic nucleus

Answer(s): C

Explanation:

The nucleus raphe magnus receives input from the periaqueductal gray and gives rise to descending serotonergic fibers of the raphe spinal projection. The latter fibers activate enkephalinergic spinal cord interneurons that presynaptically inhibit incoming pain fibers at their initial synapse in the spinal cord dorsal horn. The neurotransmitter dopamine (choice A) has not been shown to be involved in the descending systems that modulate pain transmission. The MLF (choice B) is an ascending fiber system in the brainstem that is primarily involved in the control of eye movements. The rubrospinal system (choice D) is a descending fiber tract involved with the control of limb musculature. The ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus (choice E) is primarily involved with motor function and does not contribute to descending pathways that influence pain transmission.



Viewing Page 19 of 171



Share your comments for USMLE STEP1 exam with other users:

m7md ibrahim 5/26/2023 6:21:00 PM

i think answer of q 462 is variance analysis
Anonymous


Tehu 5/25/2023 12:25:00 PM

hi i need see questions
Anonymous


Ashfaq Nasir 1/17/2024 1:19:00 AM

best study material for exam
Anonymous


Roberto 11/27/2023 12:33:00 AM

very interesting repository
ITALY


Nale 9/18/2023 1:51:00 PM

american history 1
Anonymous


Tanvi 9/27/2023 4:02:00 AM

good level of questions
Anonymous


Boopathy 8/17/2023 1:03:00 AM

i need this dump kindly upload it
Anonymous


s_123 8/12/2023 4:28:00 PM

do we need c# coding to be az204 certified
Anonymous


Blessious Phiri 8/15/2023 3:38:00 PM

excellent topics covered
Anonymous


Manasa 12/5/2023 3:15:00 AM

are these really financial cloud questions and answers, seems these are basic admin question and answers
Anonymous


Not Robot 5/14/2023 5:33:00 PM

are these comments real
Anonymous


kriah 9/4/2023 10:44:00 PM

please upload the latest dumps
UNITED STATES


ed 12/17/2023 1:41:00 PM

a company runs its workloads on premises. the company wants to forecast the cost of running a large application on aws. which aws service or tool can the company use to obtain this information? pricing calculator ... the aws pricing calculator is primarily used for estimating future costs
UNITED STATES


Muru 12/29/2023 10:23:00 AM

looks interesting
Anonymous


Tech Lady 10/17/2023 12:36:00 PM

thanks! that’s amazing
Anonymous


Mike 8/20/2023 5:12:00 PM

the exam dumps are helping me get a solid foundation on the practical techniques and practices needed to be successful in the auditing world.
UNITED STATES


Nobody 9/18/2023 6:35:00 PM

q 14 should be dmz sever1 and notepad.exe why does note pad have a 443 connection
Anonymous


Muhammad Rawish Siddiqui 12/4/2023 12:17:00 PM

question # 108, correct answers are business growth and risk reduction.
SAUDI ARABIA


Emmah 7/29/2023 9:59:00 AM

are these valid chfi questions
KENYA


Mort 10/19/2023 7:09:00 PM

question: 162 should be dlp (b)
EUROPEAN UNION


Eknath 10/4/2023 1:21:00 AM

good exam questions
INDIA


Nizam 6/16/2023 7:29:00 AM

I have to say this is really close to real exam. Passed my exam with this.
EUROPEAN UNION


poran 11/20/2023 4:43:00 AM

good analytics question
Anonymous


Antony 11/23/2023 11:36:00 AM

this looks accurate
INDIA


Ethan 8/23/2023 12:52:00 AM

question 46, the answer should be data "virtualization" (not visualization).
Anonymous


nSiva 9/22/2023 5:58:00 AM

its useful.
UNITED STATES


Ranveer 7/26/2023 7:26:00 PM

Pass this exam 3 days ago. The PDF version and the Xengine App is quite useful.
SOUTH AFRICA


Sanjay 8/15/2023 10:22:00 AM

informative for me.
UNITED STATES


Tom 12/12/2023 8:53:00 PM

question 134s answer shoule be "dlp"
JAPAN


Alex 11/7/2023 11:02:00 AM

in 72 the answer must be [sys_user_has_role] table.
Anonymous


Finn 5/4/2023 10:21:00 PM

i appreciated the mix of multiple-choice and short answer questions. i passed my exam this morning.
IRLAND


AJ 7/13/2023 8:33:00 AM

great to find this website, thanks
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES


Curtis Nakawaki 6/29/2023 9:11:00 PM

examination questions seem to be relevant.
UNITED STATES


Umashankar Sharma 10/22/2023 9:39:00 AM

planning to take psm test
Anonymous