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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Dr. Nuland theorizes that 85% of the aging population will die from one of seven primary causes, which he refers to as what in Chapter 4?

2. What poet is quoted by the author in the Introduction with the line, “Oh Lord, give each of us his own death”?

3. What is the number three killer of the elderly, according to the author in Chapter 4?

4. The electric energy that stimulates the heart occurs where?

5. Where does author Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D. teach surgery and the history of medicine, according to the book’s Introduction?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are heart problems and heart disease diagnosed and predicted, according to the author in Chapter 2?

2. What does Dr. Nuland say regarding the bureaucracy of death in Chapter 3?

3. Who is Horace Giddens and how is he described by the author?

4. What does the author write of the “mystery” and “myth” of death in the Introduction?

5. How does the author explain man’s need for oxygen in Chapter 6?

6. What medical advances does the author cite in the study of myocardial infarction in Chapter 2?

7. How does the author describe the progression of Alzheimer’s in Chapter 5?

8. How does the author describe the metabolic changes of aging in Chapter 3?

9. How does the author begin his Introduction? What does he say of the primary avenues leading to death in this section of the book?

10. What medical progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the author in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the discovery of AIDS in the U.S. in 1981 and medical progress in the diagnoses, evaluation, and treatment of the disease. How has the prognosis for HIV/AIDS changed in the past decade? What theories explain the spread of AIDS in the United States? Where did AIDS originate?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the impact of the electrocardiogram on modern medicine and treatment. What developments have been made in the past 20 years? What other tests are commonly used today to detect heart muscle damage? How effective are each of these diagnostic tests?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss John Seidman’s experiences with death as discussed in Chapter 9. What did Seidman experience as he lost friends and family to AIDS and cancer? How did he describe the healing process that took place during the deaths of his loved ones? Have you experienced the death of a loved one? If so, how did your experience relate to those of Seidman?

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