Question

A doctor is trying to diagnose a patient with short stature. she plots the girl’s growth in red on the growth chart below to compare it to the typical growth rates, which are shown in black. a graph titled stature for age percentiles: girls, 2 to 20 years. the graph shows lines ranging from 60 to 70. the red line falls at 54. based on the data, which of the following is the most likely diagnosis? gigantism an underactive pituitary gland an overactive pituitary gland an overactive adrenal gland

Answer 1

Based on the growth chart, where the patient's stature is significantly below the typical growth rates, the most likely diagnosis is an underactive pituitary gland, leading to pituitary dwarfism due to low levels of growth hormone.

Step-by-step explanation:

The doctor is trying to diagnose a patient with short stature, and the red line on the growth chart noticeably falls below the 50th percentile for age and gender comparisons. Considering the patient's stature is significantly below the typical growth rates, the most likely diagnosis is an underactive pituitary gland. An underactive pituitary gland can lead to a condition known as pituitary dwarfism, which is characterized by reduced growth in children due to insufficient production of growth hormone (GH).

An overactive pituitary gland, on the other hand, would lead to gigantism, resulting in excessive growth, which is not the case here. Similarly, an overactive adrenal gland is not typically associated with stunted growth but may cause other symptoms. Since the girl's growth falls at 54, which seems to be below the typical range indicated by the growth chart, this aligns more with the condition of pituitary dwarfism, where growth is exceptionally limited due to the low levels of growth hormone.