TBR Test 1 Menstrual Cycle

[Chocolatebear89]

121. A 30-year old woman has regular menstrual cycles of 20-24 days. Her period of ovulation can be expected to occur between days:

A. 7 and 9.
B. 10 and 12.
C. 13 and 15.
D. 19 and 21.

The cycle is on average 28 days, so I picked B, but it is wrong. Could anyone explain the answer to me.

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[addo]

Proliferative phase (follicular) may vary in length, but the secretory phase (luteal) is consistent at 14 days.
She must ovulate at around days 7-9 in order to be able to spend the two weeks in the secretory phase.

 

[MCAT guy]

Proliferative phase (follicular) may vary in length, but the secretory phase (luteal) is consistent at 14 days.
She must ovulate at around days 7-9 in order to be able to spend the two weeks in the secretory phase.

source please? I remember doing this question and looking it up in my medical physiology textbook (Boron's). I found no references to shorter menstrual cycles or how to predict what portions of each cycle will be shorter.

With all this said, this is an absolutely silly MCAT question. AAMC would NEVER test you on anything like this unless it alluded to it in the passage. I took BR 1-7 and I know that it didn't say anything about it in the question.

Again, please list a source... even the solution in BR says: "she would PROBABLY have a shorter luteal phase (but it was not definitive)" (language along those lines).

 

[MCAT guy]

121. A 30-year old woman has regular menstrual cycles of 20-24 days. Her period of ovulation can be expected to occur between days:

A. 7 and 9.
B. 10 and 12.
C. 13 and 15.
D. 19 and 21.

The cycle is on average 28 days, so I picked B, but it is wrong. Could anyone explain the answer to me.

Be careful with BR biology. They go fact/memory heavy. The MCAT is reasoining heavy, which is completely the opposite. I've been getting 12/13 on AAMC BS sections but I got like 2 or 3 7's in a row on the BR. MCAT is about reasoning, not about memorizing that the luteal phase is a fixed phase or silly trivia like that.

 

[addo]

source please? I remember doing this question and looking it up in my medical physiology textbook (Boron's). I found no references to shorter menstrual cycles or how to predict what portions of each cycle will be shorter.

"The luteal phase is relatively constant with a duration of 14 days. The variability of cycle length is usually derived from varying lengths of the follicular phase of the cycle, ranging from 10 to 16 days."

From http://www.endotext.org/female/female3/female3.htm
but you are right, it is a silly question- much too focused on details.

 

[Chocolatebear89]

Okay thank you. So the follicular phase is only the phase that really varies in women.

I got a 34 on TBR test one, but I got 11 on the verbal section, which never happened before. Is the TBR a good indicator exam?

 

[MCAT guy]

"The luteal phase is relatively constant with a duration of 14 days. The variability of cycle length is usually derived from varying lengths of the follicular phase of the cycle, ranging from 10 to 16 days."

From http://www.endotext.org/female/female3/female3.htm
but you are right, it is a silly question- much too focused on details.

nice.

Super specialized knowledge. If it isn't even covered in Boron's Medical Physiology (which it isn't) with Boron's being the densest medical school level physiology book out there, then there is NO possible way that it could be on the MCAT.

MCAT physio is so so basic.