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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On what date did Henrietta marry David Lacks?
(a) February 5, 1951.
(b) January 29, 1945.
(c) October 4, 1951.
(d) April 10, 1941.

2. When did the U.S.-led international war tribunal at Nuremberg sentence seven Nazi doctors to death for conducting unthinkable research on Jews without consent?
(a) April 10, 1941.
(b) January 29, 1951.
(c) August 20, 1947.
(d) February 5, 1951.

3. What was listed as the official cause of Henrietta Lacks's death?
(a) Terminal uremia.
(b) Stroke.
(c) Grand mal seizure.
(d) Heart attack.

4. For how long was Chester Southam's medical license suspended due to "fraud or deceit and unprofessional conduct in the practice of medicine" after he'd injected unknowing patients with cancer cells?
(a) 6 months.
(b) 5 years.
(c) 1 year.
(d) 3 years.

5. For how long was Joe Lacks in the military before being discharged?
(a) 2 years.
(b) 6 months.
(c) 9 months.
(d) 3 months.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what date did the gynecologist from Johns Hopkins Hospital call and inform Henrietta Lacks that she had a malignant tumor?

2. Who were Henrietta's cousins that she first told about the knot she felt in her womb, prior to her visit to the hospital?

3. How old was Henrietta when she gave birth to her first child?

4. The first time that live human cells were ever shipped via the U.S. Postal Service was when George Gey mailed HeLa cells to whom?

5. What nickname did Dr. Richard Wesley TeLinde have at John's Hopkins in the 1950s?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Deborah Lacks respond to Rebecca Skloot when she first called her? What information did Rebecca learn from this call?

2. How do you think Henrietta Lacks's life would have been different if her mother had not died when Henrietta was still a child? Why?

3. What diagnosis did the doctors from Johns Hopkins reach regarding Henrietta's condition after her first visit? What treatment was available at this time for her condition?

4. What did Henrietta's doctors at Johns Hopkins find during her repeated visits in June of 1951?

5. How did the doctors at Johns Hopkins treat Henrietta Lacks after her recurrence of cancer in June of 1951?

6. How does the author describe the actions of Ethel and Galen in the narrative? What relationship did Ethel and Galen have to the Lackses?

7. How did Henrietta respond to the treatment she received at Johns Hopkins for cancer? Why do you think that Henrietta Lacks did not question any of the treatment she received?

8. Describe the genre and narrative style of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. From whose perspective is the narrative related?

9. What precedent was set by the 1957 case of patient Martin Salgo?

10. How did Henrietta meet David Lacks? How did their early relationship develop?

(see the answer keys)

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