Oral medicine and oral cancer: hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia: practice question

A Dentistry question in the style of the NEET PG paper. Answer it first, then read why the right option is right and why each of the others is wrong.

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Dentistry · Oral medicine and oral cancer: hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia

Sample item

A 35-year-old woman has recurrent epistaxis and small red-purple blanching spots on the lips and tongue. Her father had similar spots and gastrointestinal bleeding. What is the most likely diagnosis?

Original practice item, not a recalled exam question. Nothing here is recorded.

The answer and the reasoning

B. Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia

Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu) is autosomal dominant and causes mucocutaneous telangiectasias, recurrent epistaxis, gastrointestinal bleeding and visceral arteriovenous malformations. The oral lesions are small, red and blanch on pressure. Bleeding during dental procedures should be anticipated.

Option by option

  • A. Von Willebrand disease

    Von Willebrand disease causes mucosal bleeding but not discrete telangiectatic spots.

  • B. Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (correct)

    Correct. Familial telangiectasias of the lips and tongue with epistaxis and bleeding are typical.

  • C. Sturge-Weber syndrome

    Sturge-Weber shows a facial port-wine stain, usually unilateral, with leptomeningeal angiomatosis.

  • D. Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

    Peutz-Jeghers gives flat brown-black perioral macules and intestinal polyps, not blanching red spots.

Source note: Original NextPrep sample item — pending expert review. This item is original practice material awaiting independent expert review, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.

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Questions about this Dentistry question

What is the answer to this Dentistry question?

The best answer is B, Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia. Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler-Weber-Rendu) is autosomal dominant and causes mucocutaneous telangiectasias, recurrent epistaxis, gastrointestinal bleeding and visceral arteriovenous malformations.

Why is "Von Willebrand disease" not the answer?

Von Willebrand disease causes mucosal bleeding but not discrete telangiectatic spots.

Why is "Sturge-Weber syndrome" not the answer?

Sturge-Weber shows a facial port-wine stain, usually unilateral, with leptomeningeal angiomatosis.

Why is "Peutz-Jeghers syndrome" not the answer?

Peutz-Jeghers gives flat brown-black perioral macules and intestinal polyps, not blanching red spots.

What concept does this question test?

It tests Oral medicine and oral cancer: hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia in Dentistry. The oral lesions are small, red and blanch on pressure. Bleeding during dental procedures should be anticipated.

How hard is this question?

We tag it as an application question: it asks you to use a fact on a patient or a finding. The tag is our own editorial judgement, not an official difficulty rating, so read the reason for every option, not only the answer.

How should I study Oral medicine and oral cancer: hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia?

Learn the dental formula, eruption ages and tooth structure once, as tables. Then use the flashcards and the other Dentistry questions on this site to test what stuck.

Is this a real NEET PG question?

No. It is an original practice item (editorial status: sample, version 1). NextPrep does not publish recalled or leaked questions, and independent faculty review of this item has not been completed yet, so confirm important facts in a standard textbook.