BMS Exam 1 Questions with 100% Verified Correct
Answers 2024/2025
Name a significant, nationally known, living figure in the biomedical sciences or in clinical practice.
What are they known for? This person must be a woman or a minority. - Correct Answer - Rochelle
Paula Walensky is known for working to improve the screening of HIV and HIV care in South Africa.
She is an American physician-scientist that is the director of the CDC, the administrator of Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
She is also known for motivating health policy in addition to informing clinical trial design.
Name a second significant figure in the health sciences from any background. - Correct Answer
Sanjay Gupta is the associate chief of neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta,
GA., an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine, a chief
medical correspondent for CNN, and a member of the of the National Academy of Medicine.
Big in the field of neuroscience and recently published a book in which he talks about how to keep
your mind sharp by doing certain activities daily.
He based his ideas on his research and through collaboration with other scientists to discover more
about cognitive longevity.
Who was Jonas Salk? - Correct Answer Jonas Salk was a public figure when he developed one of the
first effective vaccines against polio in the 1950s.
In the midst 1960s he found in the independent Salk Institute.
What is the significance of the Salk Institute? - Correct Answer The Salk Institute is a place where
scientists could work collaboratively on major biomedical issues.
It continues to this day and is considered one of the most prestigious independent research institutes
in the world.
It does have one relatively "new" focus and that is the study of aging. This reflects the interests of its
president who is noted above.
,Name three of the BMS PLO - Correct Answer Microbiology
Normal human anatomy and physiology (including changes in aging)
Immunology (basic & vaccines)
Name three of the SHS ILO - Correct Answer Disease & health diversity
Challenges of aging
Diverse role models
Name two reasons why older individuals from different ethnic backgrounds may distrust the
biomedical community? - Correct Answer 1. the history of inequitable treatment such as the
Tuskegee experiment and sterilization without consent, and stereotyping
2. Current issues such as the fact that African-American infant mortality is higher when the doctor is
not an African-American
What was the eugenics movement in the United States during the first half of the 20th century? -
Correct Answer - The Eugenics movement took place in the United States in the early 1900's and was
led by Charles Davenport (prominent biologist) and Harry Laughlin (former teacher and preacher
interested in breeding). Davenport founded the eugenics record office (ERO) to improve aspects of
the human family. Laughlin was the first director. During the 1920's and 1930's, the American
eugenics society was founded, other local societies and groups around the country were formed too.
Fitter family and better baby competitions. Movies and books promoting eugenic principles were
popular
The movement focused on eliminating negative traits; concentrated in poor, uneducated, and
minority populations. In an attempt to prevent these groups from propagating, eugenicists helped
drive legislation for their forced sterilization.
,The first state to enact a sterilization law was Indiana in 1907, quickly followed by California and 28
other states by 1931. These laws resulted in the forced sterilization of over 64,000 people in the
United States.
At first, sterilization efforts focused on the disabled but later grew to include people whose only
"crime" was poverty. These sterilization programs found legal support in the Supreme Court.
In Buck v. Bell (1927), the state of Virginia sought to sterilize Carrie Buck for promiscuity as evidenced
by her giving birth to a baby out of wedlock (some suggest she was raped). The US Supreme Court
upheld the law, saying that states had the right to sterilize people who they didn't think should have
the opportunity to reproduce. This decision legitimized the various sterilization laws in the United
States.
What European political movement adopted eugenics from United States and then carried it to a
higher level? - Correct Answer The Nazi Party
What are anti-miscegenation laws? - Correct Answer Anti-miscegenation laws are laws that
criminalized the marriages between races, reinforcing racial segregation in terms of marriage and
sexual relations
What was the Tuskegee experiments? Why were they infamous? - Correct Answer These are among
the most infamous medical experiments conducted by United States. The Tuskegee experiment ran
from the 1930s to the 1970s. Briefly without consent 600 low-income African-American males with
syphilis were followed but never informed of their diagnosis (told they had bad blood which referred
to a variety of ailments). The original purpose Syphilis was essentially untreatable until the
development of antibiotics in the 1940s. Still participants in the experiment were not treated and
were allowed to suffer from the disease and slowly die while they were studied to see the effects of
long-term venereal infection. Note many of the participants of the Tuskegee experiment were elderly
individuals with no healthcare
- Tracking of 600 low-income African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama. The original purpose was
to understand the natural course of syphilis. About 400 of them had syphilis, in order to fulfil the
purpose, the men we lied to and given sham treatments leading to them passing the disease to
family members who suffered and died
- They were infamous because it was unethical viewed as misguided and a clear violation of the
Hippocratic Oath: "first do no harm"
, - it was a driver of distrust in the health system by African Americans revealed more about the
pathology of racism
What is the Belmont report that resulted from Tuskegee experiments? - Correct Answer - National
report that outlines basic ethical principles that would underlie research involving human subjects
and guidelines that should be followed to assure that the research is conducted following the
principles
- The basic ethical principles covered are: respect for persons (acknowledging autonomy and
protecting those with diminished autonomy), beneficence (obligation to kindness and charity, don't
do harm, maximize possible benefits, minimize harms), justice (equal treatment)
What is the significance of the of the physician J. Marion Sims in biomedical history? - Correct
Answer J. Marion Sims was a prominent 19th-century physician and researcher.
"Dr. Sims, dubbed the "father of modern gynecology," was credited with the first successful
treatment for vesicovaginal fistula, the first gallbladder surgery, and introducing antiseptic principles
in all areas of surgical treatment. The Sims position and Sims speculum, still used in gynecology
today, are named after him."
Speculum - used for exams and dilation
Dr. Sims originally lived and practiced in the deep South but then moved to New York City. He is
credited with founding the first Women's Hospital in the country in Harlem New York. After his death
he was so respected that collections were taken up to cast a bronze statue of him commemorating
him as the founder of modern gynecology. The statue had a prominent place in Central Park.
However, it came to light that Dr. Sims developed some of these surgical techniques by practicing on
African-American slave women, without their consent, and without the benefit of anesthesia.
Therefore New York City has decided (2018) to remove his statue from public display and have it
moved to the private cemetery where he is buried.
What is the maximum species longevity? - Correct Answer Maximum longevity is the longest that any
individual member of a species can live
Answers 2024/2025
Name a significant, nationally known, living figure in the biomedical sciences or in clinical practice.
What are they known for? This person must be a woman or a minority. - Correct Answer - Rochelle
Paula Walensky is known for working to improve the screening of HIV and HIV care in South Africa.
She is an American physician-scientist that is the director of the CDC, the administrator of Agency for
Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
She is also known for motivating health policy in addition to informing clinical trial design.
Name a second significant figure in the health sciences from any background. - Correct Answer
Sanjay Gupta is the associate chief of neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta,
GA., an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine, a chief
medical correspondent for CNN, and a member of the of the National Academy of Medicine.
Big in the field of neuroscience and recently published a book in which he talks about how to keep
your mind sharp by doing certain activities daily.
He based his ideas on his research and through collaboration with other scientists to discover more
about cognitive longevity.
Who was Jonas Salk? - Correct Answer Jonas Salk was a public figure when he developed one of the
first effective vaccines against polio in the 1950s.
In the midst 1960s he found in the independent Salk Institute.
What is the significance of the Salk Institute? - Correct Answer The Salk Institute is a place where
scientists could work collaboratively on major biomedical issues.
It continues to this day and is considered one of the most prestigious independent research institutes
in the world.
It does have one relatively "new" focus and that is the study of aging. This reflects the interests of its
president who is noted above.
,Name three of the BMS PLO - Correct Answer Microbiology
Normal human anatomy and physiology (including changes in aging)
Immunology (basic & vaccines)
Name three of the SHS ILO - Correct Answer Disease & health diversity
Challenges of aging
Diverse role models
Name two reasons why older individuals from different ethnic backgrounds may distrust the
biomedical community? - Correct Answer 1. the history of inequitable treatment such as the
Tuskegee experiment and sterilization without consent, and stereotyping
2. Current issues such as the fact that African-American infant mortality is higher when the doctor is
not an African-American
What was the eugenics movement in the United States during the first half of the 20th century? -
Correct Answer - The Eugenics movement took place in the United States in the early 1900's and was
led by Charles Davenport (prominent biologist) and Harry Laughlin (former teacher and preacher
interested in breeding). Davenport founded the eugenics record office (ERO) to improve aspects of
the human family. Laughlin was the first director. During the 1920's and 1930's, the American
eugenics society was founded, other local societies and groups around the country were formed too.
Fitter family and better baby competitions. Movies and books promoting eugenic principles were
popular
The movement focused on eliminating negative traits; concentrated in poor, uneducated, and
minority populations. In an attempt to prevent these groups from propagating, eugenicists helped
drive legislation for their forced sterilization.
,The first state to enact a sterilization law was Indiana in 1907, quickly followed by California and 28
other states by 1931. These laws resulted in the forced sterilization of over 64,000 people in the
United States.
At first, sterilization efforts focused on the disabled but later grew to include people whose only
"crime" was poverty. These sterilization programs found legal support in the Supreme Court.
In Buck v. Bell (1927), the state of Virginia sought to sterilize Carrie Buck for promiscuity as evidenced
by her giving birth to a baby out of wedlock (some suggest she was raped). The US Supreme Court
upheld the law, saying that states had the right to sterilize people who they didn't think should have
the opportunity to reproduce. This decision legitimized the various sterilization laws in the United
States.
What European political movement adopted eugenics from United States and then carried it to a
higher level? - Correct Answer The Nazi Party
What are anti-miscegenation laws? - Correct Answer Anti-miscegenation laws are laws that
criminalized the marriages between races, reinforcing racial segregation in terms of marriage and
sexual relations
What was the Tuskegee experiments? Why were they infamous? - Correct Answer These are among
the most infamous medical experiments conducted by United States. The Tuskegee experiment ran
from the 1930s to the 1970s. Briefly without consent 600 low-income African-American males with
syphilis were followed but never informed of their diagnosis (told they had bad blood which referred
to a variety of ailments). The original purpose Syphilis was essentially untreatable until the
development of antibiotics in the 1940s. Still participants in the experiment were not treated and
were allowed to suffer from the disease and slowly die while they were studied to see the effects of
long-term venereal infection. Note many of the participants of the Tuskegee experiment were elderly
individuals with no healthcare
- Tracking of 600 low-income African American men in Tuskegee, Alabama. The original purpose was
to understand the natural course of syphilis. About 400 of them had syphilis, in order to fulfil the
purpose, the men we lied to and given sham treatments leading to them passing the disease to
family members who suffered and died
- They were infamous because it was unethical viewed as misguided and a clear violation of the
Hippocratic Oath: "first do no harm"
, - it was a driver of distrust in the health system by African Americans revealed more about the
pathology of racism
What is the Belmont report that resulted from Tuskegee experiments? - Correct Answer - National
report that outlines basic ethical principles that would underlie research involving human subjects
and guidelines that should be followed to assure that the research is conducted following the
principles
- The basic ethical principles covered are: respect for persons (acknowledging autonomy and
protecting those with diminished autonomy), beneficence (obligation to kindness and charity, don't
do harm, maximize possible benefits, minimize harms), justice (equal treatment)
What is the significance of the of the physician J. Marion Sims in biomedical history? - Correct
Answer J. Marion Sims was a prominent 19th-century physician and researcher.
"Dr. Sims, dubbed the "father of modern gynecology," was credited with the first successful
treatment for vesicovaginal fistula, the first gallbladder surgery, and introducing antiseptic principles
in all areas of surgical treatment. The Sims position and Sims speculum, still used in gynecology
today, are named after him."
Speculum - used for exams and dilation
Dr. Sims originally lived and practiced in the deep South but then moved to New York City. He is
credited with founding the first Women's Hospital in the country in Harlem New York. After his death
he was so respected that collections were taken up to cast a bronze statue of him commemorating
him as the founder of modern gynecology. The statue had a prominent place in Central Park.
However, it came to light that Dr. Sims developed some of these surgical techniques by practicing on
African-American slave women, without their consent, and without the benefit of anesthesia.
Therefore New York City has decided (2018) to remove his statue from public display and have it
moved to the private cemetery where he is buried.
What is the maximum species longevity? - Correct Answer Maximum longevity is the longest that any
individual member of a species can live
