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40 Medicine Trivia Questions for Kids

The easiest medicine questions in the game, picked for younger players. Every one comes with the answer and a short explanation of why it is right.

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Easy Medicine Questions and Answers

  1. Which specialist would you see about a problem with your feet?

    A podiatrist

    A podiatrist diagnoses and treats conditions of the foot, ankle and lower leg, from bunions and ingrown nails to the foot complications of diabetes. In Britain the same practitioners were long called chiropodists, and the two titles now mean the same thing.

    Easy · Also offered: An orthodontist, An audiologist, An optometrist · Source: NHS, foot problems and podiatry

  2. Which device can analyze rhythm and deliver a shock during cardiac arrest?

    AED

    An automated external defibrillator (AED) analyzes heart rhythm and can deliver an electrical shock when appropriate.

    Easy · Also offered: ECG, EEG, MRI · Source: FDA, Automated External Defibrillators

  3. What term describes a rapid, severe allergic reaction?

    Anaphylaxis

    Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction requiring emergency care.

    Easy · Also offered: Arthritis, Anemia, Atherosclerosis · Source: NIH MedlinePlus, Anaphylaxis

  4. What does anemia commonly reduce the blood's ability to carry?

    Oxygen

    Anemia commonly reduces the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity because of reduced hemoglobin or red blood cells.

    Easy · Also offered: Carbon dioxide, Glucose, Hormones · Source: NHLBI: Anemia

  5. What blocks all sensation, not just pain, during many operations?

    Anesthesia

    Anesthesia is used to block or reduce sensation, especially pain, during medical procedures. General anesthesia can make a person unconscious, while local anesthesia numbs only a specific area.

    Easy · Also offered: Analgesia, Sedation, Hypnosis · Source: NIGMS, Anesthesia

  6. Which medicine is taken to relieve heartburn and indigestion?

    Antacid

    Antacids are medicines that neutralize stomach acid and can relieve heartburn or indigestion.

    Easy · Also offered: Antibiotic, Antiviral, Anticoagulant · Source: NHS: Antacids

  7. What is the name for a foreign molecule that triggers an immune response and gets bound by antibodies?

    Antigen

    An antigen is anything the immune system reads as foreign and reacts to, most often a protein on the surface of a virus, bacterium or pollen grain. Rapid antigen tests work by using antibodies to catch exactly those surface proteins.

    Easy · Also offered: Antibody, Cytokine, Interferon · Source: NIH NIAID, Immune System Overview

  8. Which medicine is commonly used to relieve allergy symptoms?

    Antihistamine

    Antihistamines block the effects of histamine and are commonly used for symptoms of allergies.

    Easy · Also offered: Antacid, Antibiotic, Diuretic · Source: NHS: Antihistamines

  9. Sneezing, itching and a runny nose in hay fever are mostly caused by one chemical the body releases. Which?

    Histamine

    Histamine is released by mast cells when the immune system overreacts to something harmless like pollen. It makes small blood vessels leak and nerve endings fire, producing the sneezing, itching and streaming eyes of hay fever, and antihistamine tablets work by blocking it at its receptors.

    Easy · Also offered: Adrenaline, Serotonin, Cortisol · Source: NIH MedlinePlus, Antihistamines

  10. In antimicrobial resistance, what is it that changes so the medicine stops working?

    The germs develop changes

    Resistance happens in the germ, not the patient. Bacteria and fungi pick up changes that let them survive a drug, then pass those changes on as they multiply, so the same medicine no longer clears the infection in anyone who catches that strain.

    Easy · Also offered: The person builds up a tolerance, The immune system stops responding, The drug weakens with age · Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About Antimicrobial Resistance

  11. Which disease involves recurring narrowing and inflammation of airways?

    Asthma

    Asthma causes episodes of airway inflammation and narrowing.

    Easy · Also offered: Emphysema, Pneumonia, Pulmonary embolism · Source: NIH NHLBI, Asthma

  12. What is a procedure that removes tissue for laboratory examination?

    Biopsy

    A biopsy removes cells or tissue for examination by a pathologist, often using microscopy or other tests.

    Easy · Also offered: Dialysis, Vaccination, Intubation · Source: NCI, Definition of Biopsy

  13. Which genes are strongly associated with inherited breast and ovarian cancer risk?

    BRCA1 and BRCA2

    Inherited harmful variants in BRCA1 or BRCA2 can increase breast and ovarian cancer risk.

    Easy · Also offered: CFTR and FBN1, INS and HBB, APOE and HTT · Source: NIH NCI, BRCA Gene Changes

  14. What eye condition clouds the natural lens?

    Cataract

    A cataract is clouding of the eye's normally clear lens.

    Easy · Also offered: Glaucoma, Astigmatism, Conjunctivitis · Source: NIH NEI, Cataracts

  15. Which US federal agency tracks disease outbreaks and works to prevent them?

    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, headquartered in Atlanta, monitors outbreaks, runs the national disease surveillance system and issues US public health guidance.

    Easy · Also offered: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Resources and Services Administration · Source: CDC, About CDC

  16. Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. How does it usually reach people?

    In water contaminated with sewage

    Vibrio cholerae spreads through drinking water and food contaminated by infected faeces, which is why outbreaks follow floods, war and broken sanitation. John Snow proved the water link in 1854 by tracing a deadly Soho outbreak to a single public pump.

    Easy · Also offered: Through mosquito bites, In airborne droplets from coughs, Through contact with rats · Source: WHO, Cholera

  17. Which procedure lets clinicians view the inside of the large intestine?

    Colonoscopy

    Colonoscopy uses a flexible camera to examine the colon and rectum.

    Easy · Also offered: Bronchoscopy, Cystoscopy, Arthroscopy · Source: NIH NIDDK, Colonoscopy

  18. What does the abbreviation COPD stand for?

    Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    COPD is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a long-term lung condition, most often caused by smoking, in which the airways narrow and airflow out of the lungs is permanently limited. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis both sit under the term.

    Easy · Also offered: Chronic obstructive pleural disease, Congestive obstructive pulmonary disorder, Cardio-obstructive pulmonary deficiency · Source: WHO, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  19. What emergency procedure uses chest compressions to circulate blood?

    CPR

    The American Heart Association recommends a pace of 100 to 120 compressions per minute, about the tempo of the Bee Gees song Stayin Alive, which trainers sometimes use to help rescuers keep count.

    Easy · Also offered: Defibrillation, The Heimlich maneuver, Rescue breathing · Source: American Heart Association, CPR

  20. Dehydration means the body has lost too much what?

    Fluid

    Dehydration happens when the body loses more fluid than it takes in, leaving it without enough water to function normally. It can result from sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, or simply not drinking enough.

    Easy · Also offered: Protein, Body heat, Muscle mass · Source: MedlinePlus, Dehydration

  21. What treatment is used to remove waste from the blood after kidney failure?

    Dialysis

    Dialysis filters waste products and excess fluid out of the blood when the kidneys can no longer do it, either by pumping blood through a machine or by using the lining of the abdomen as the filter.

    Easy · Also offered: Hemoperfusion, Plasma exchange, Lithotripsy · Source: NIH NIDDK, Hemodialysis

  22. What chromosomal condition is also called Down syndrome?

    Trisomy 21

    Down syndrome results from an extra copy of chromosome 21.

    Easy · Also offered: Trisomy 13, Monosomy X, Trisomy 18 · Source: CDC, Down Syndrome

  23. What does an ECG record?

    The heart's electrical activity

    An electrocardiogram, also called an EKG, detects and records the electrical activity of the heart.

    Easy · Also offered: The brain's electrical activity, The lungs' airflow, The bones' mineral density · Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Heart Tests

  24. What type of skin problem is eczema?

    An inflammatory condition

    The most common form, atopic dermatitis, often begins in infancy and is linked to a weakened skin barrier that lets moisture out and irritants in. It frequently runs alongside asthma and hay fever, a pattern doctors call the atopic march.

    Easy · Also offered: A bacterial infection, A fungal infection, A pigment disorder · Source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: Atopic Dermatitis

  25. What test records electrical activity in the brain?

    EEG

    An electroencephalogram records electrical activity in the brain.

    Easy · Also offered: ECG, EMG, Echocardiogram · Source: NIH NINDS, EEG

  26. What should go on a small heat burn first?

    Cool running water

    Hold a minor burn under cool, not ice-cold, running water for about 20 minutes. Skin keeps cooking after the heat source is gone, and the water draws that heat back out and limits how deep the damage runs. Gel, dressings and ointment come afterwards, not instead.

    Easy · Also offered: Aloe vera gel, Sterile gauze pad, Antibiotic ointment · Source: American Red Cross, Burns

  27. During a nosebleed, which direction should a person lean?

    Forward

    Leaning forward helps blood drain out rather than being swallowed; gentle pressure on the soft part of the nose is also commonly advised.

    Easy · Also offered: Backward, Sideways, Downward · Source: Mayo Clinic, Nosebleeds: First Aid

  28. Which profession did Florence Nightingale help professionalize?

    Modern nursing

    Florence Nightingale is widely associated with professionalizing modern nursing and improving hospital sanitation and organization.

    Easy · Also offered: Radiology, Dentistry, Pharmacy · Source: National Archives (UK): Florence Nightingale

  29. Which supplement helps prevent neural tube defects during pregnancy?

    Folic acid

    Adequate folic acid before and during early pregnancy helps prevent neural tube defects.

    Easy · Also offered: Vitamin E, Niacin, Calcium carbonate · Source: CDC, Folic Acid

  30. Which eye disease can damage the optic nerve?

    Glaucoma

    Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve.

    Easy · Also offered: Cataract, Color blindness, Dry eye · Source: NIH NEI, Glaucoma

  31. What term describes population protection when enough people are immune?

    Herd immunity

    Herd immunity is resistance of a group to an infectious agent when a high proportion of its members are immune, reducing spread and protecting susceptible people.

    Easy · Also offered: Passive immunity, Antigenic drift, Clinical remission · Source: CDC, Vaccine Glossary

  32. Which virus causes most cervical cancers?

    Human papillomavirus

    Persistent infection with high-risk human papillomavirus causes most cervical cancers.

    Easy · Also offered: Influenza virus, Epstein-Barr virus, Rhinovirus · Source: WHO, Cervical cancer

  33. Ibuprofen belongs to which class of medicines?

    NSAID

    Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID.

    Easy · Also offered: Antiviral, Antacid, Opioid · Source: NIH MedlinePlus, Ibuprofen

  34. What type of infectious agent causes influenza?

    Virus

    Influenza, commonly called flu, is caused by influenza viruses.

    Easy · Also offered: Bacterium, Fungus, Worm · Source: CDC: About Influenza (Flu)

  35. Which hormone allows glucose to pass from the blood into the body's cells?

    Insulin

    Beta cells in the pancreas release insulin after a meal, and muscle, fat and liver cells then take glucose out of the blood for fuel or storage. Glucagon, adrenaline and cortisol all push blood glucose the other way, up.

    Easy · Also offered: Glucagon, Adrenaline, Cortisol · Source: NIH NIDDK, What Is Diabetes?

  36. In a hospital, what does ICU stand for?

    Intensive care unit

    An intensive care unit provides continuous monitoring and life support for the most seriously ill patients.

    Easy · Also offered: Immediate care unit, Internal critical unit, Isolation and care unit · Source: NHS, intensive care

  37. Which organs filter wastes from the blood to form urine?

    Kidneys

    The kidneys filter blood, remove wastes and extra water, and produce urine while helping regulate fluid and mineral balance.

    Easy · Also offered: Lungs, Gallbladder, Thyroid · Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, How Your Kidneys Work

  38. Which cancer begins in blood-forming tissue?

    Leukemia

    Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues, including bone marrow.

    Easy · Also offered: Lymphoma, Melanoma, Lung cancer · Source: National Cancer Institute: Leukemia

  39. Which organs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the blood?

    Lungs

    In the lungs, oxygen moves into blood and carbon dioxide moves out at tiny air sacs called alveoli.

    Easy · Also offered: Kidneys, Pancreas, Spleen · Source: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, How the Lungs Work

  40. Which parasite causes malaria?

    Plasmodium

    Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted by infected mosquitoes.

    Easy · Also offered: Trypanosoma, Giardia, Taenia · Source: CDC, About Malaria

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