Regarding interstitial lung disease

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) is smoking-related (C), linked to macrophage accumulation. Choice A is false; idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is T_H2-mediated (IL-4/IL-13). Choice B is incorrect; IPF is alveolitis, not bronchiolitis. Choice D is wrong; radiation pneumonitis causes fibrosis, not granulomas (sarcoid does). Choice E (late clubbing) is true. Page 729 confirms C DIP's smoking tie contrasts with IPF's T_H2-driven fibrosis, distinguishing it over A's cell type or D's granuloma error.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: Organ transplant recipients are highly susceptible to Legionella pneumonia (A), with mortality up to 50% in immunocompromised. Choice B is false; urine antigens aid rapid diagnosis, but culture is the gold standard. Choice C is incorrect; Pontiac fever is a mild, distinct Legionella illness. Choice D is wrong; transmission is via aerosol aspiration, not drinking. Choice E (none true) is invalid. Page 747 confirms A's risk immunosuppression amplifies severity, unlike B's diagnostic error or C's nomenclature.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Lung cancer incidence exceeds breast cancer in women (B), reflecting smoking trends. Choice A is false; it's increasing slowly in women. Choice C is incorrect; peak is 40-70, not seventies. Choice D is wrong; only 2% occur before 40. Choice E (1990s smoking link) is misstated. Page 757 confirms B's epidemiology women's rising rates surpass breast cancer, unlike A's decline or D's percentage error.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Exotoxins are potent proteins secreted by bacteria, driving diseases like diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae), where toxin inhibits protein synthesis; whooping cough (Bordetella pertussis), with pertussis toxin disrupting cell signaling; and scarlet fever (Streptococcus pyogenes), via erythrogenic toxins causing rash. Q fever, caused by Coxiella burnetii, lacks a classic exotoxin instead, its intracellular survival and lipopolysaccharide-like effects drive symptoms like fever and pneumonia. Unlike exotoxin-mediated diseases, Q fever's pathology stems from replication within host cells, not secreted toxins. This distinction matters in treatment: antitoxins target exotoxins, but Q fever relies on antibiotics like doxycycline, highlighting diverse bacterial virulence strategies in respiratory infections.

Correct Answer: D

Rationale: Dimorphic fungi switch between yeast and mold forms, causing systemic infections. Histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum), coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides spp.), and blastomycosis (Blastomyces dermatitidis) are dimorphic, inhaled as spores, then yeast in tissue, affecting lungs and beyond. Aspergillosis, from Aspergillus spp., isn't dimorphic it's a mold-only opportunist, infecting immunocompromised lungs without yeast transition. This distinction guides diagnosis: dimorphic fungi need tissue biopsy showing yeast, while Aspergillus shows hyphae. Treatment varies amphotericin B for systemic dimorphic infections versus voriconazole for Aspergillus highlighting aspergillosis's unique pathology in respiratory fungal disease classification.