SZABMU Part-I Paper I Pathology, Pharmacology & Biochemistry MCQs

Sample SZABMU Part-I Paper I MCQs in pathology (20%), pharmacology (10%) and biochemistry (10%) with answers and short explanations.

Pathology carries 20% of SZABMU Part-I Paper I, with pharmacology and biochemistry at 10% each, so these three together are 40 marks. They reward clean recall of mechanisms and classic associations. Here is a sample set from our bank.

Sample MCQs

1. Eighty percent of aortic aneurysms are linked to which of the following?

A) Atherosclerosis ✅
B) Ectasia
C) Arteriosclerosis
D) Arteriostenosis

Atherosclerosis weakens the aortic media and is the leading cause of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

2. A bronchial carcinoid cell originates from:

A) Clara cells
B) Type 1 pneumocytes
C) Type 2 pneumocytes
D) Kulchitsky cells ✅

Bronchial carcinoids arise from neuroendocrine Kulchitsky (APUD) cells of the bronchial mucosa.

3. The tumour marker of ovarian carcinoma is:

A) CA-125 ✅
B) Calcitonin
C) CEA
D) CA 19-9

CA-125 is the tumour marker of epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

4. Which of the following drugs, when used for a prolonged period in maintenance treatment of tonic-clonic seizures, can lead to increased metabolism of warfarin-like drugs?

A) Phenobarbital ✅
B) Meprobamate
C) Triazolam
D) Chlordiazepoxide

Phenobarbital induces hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes and so increases the metabolism of warfarin, reducing its effect.

5. A young girl of 20 years has taken a suicidal overdose of digoxin. The drug of choice in her treatment will be:

A) Lidocaine
B) Potassium chloride
C) Phenytoin
D) Digoxin antibodies ✅

Digoxin-specific antibody (Fab) fragments are the antidote for life-threatening digoxin poisoning.

6. A neutral antagonist requires which of the following to exert its effect?

A) Inverse agonist
B) Antagonist
C) Agonist and inverse agonist ✅
D) Agonist

A neutral antagonist only blocks the action of an agonist or inverse agonist and has no effect on its own.

7. Zinc decreases absorption of which of the following?

A) Iron
B) Magnesium
C) Copper ✅
D) Manganese

High zinc induces enterocyte metallothionein, which traps copper and reduces its absorption.

8. A 16-carbon compound is which of the following?

A) Palmitoleic acid
B) Palmitic acid ✅
C) Tripalmitin
D) Oleic acid

Palmitic acid is the saturated 16-carbon fatty acid (16:0) produced by fatty acid synthase.

9. Lactose is constituted of which of the following?

A) Galactose plus sucrose
B) Galactose plus maltose
C) Galactose plus fructose
D) Galactose plus glucose ✅

Lactose is galactose linked to glucose by a beta-1,4 glycosidic bond.

How to Study These Three

Pathology: link every disease to its hallmark finding and its typical complication.
Pharmacology: organise by drug class and learn the signature adverse effect of each.
Biochemistry: pathways, rate-limiting enzymes and the vitamin cofactors; a short daily block is enough.

The full topic sets are in the Pathology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry sections of the MD bank, and the same Paper I core is in the MS bank. For the other Paper I subjects see anatomy and physiology MCQs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of the three has the highest weightage?

Pathology, at 20%; pharmacology and biochemistry are 10% each.

Is the Paper I syllabus the same for MS?

Yes. Paper I is common to all disciplines.

Practise With Explanations

The SZABMU MD QBank groups its MCQs by the official Paper I and Paper II topics, with an explanation for every question and topic analytics to show where marks are leaking. The first 20 questions are free, and the mock tests come included with the QBank. The MS bank shares the same Paper I core and swaps Paper II for applied surgery.