Question

patient #5 (4 - year - old girl)
symptoms: small jawbone but disproportionately large mouth, some hearing loss, small and unusually formed ears, downward slanting eyes.
patient history: born with a cleft palate (surgically repaired), history of many surgeries on the face, a small psychomotor delay.
physical exam reveals: lower weight than expected for age but improving (likely due to feeding issues before the cleft palate was repaired)
lab results: x - rays reveal many facial skeletal abnormalities; blood testing reveals a mutation in dna that creates a certain organelle and that organelle cannot be properly made; cells with this damaged organelle are unable to properly make proteins; cells that form facial bones and tissues can undergo cell death due to the inability to make proteins
what organelle is her body unable to properly make?
a mitochondria
b flagella
c cilia

Explanation:

Mitochondria are involved in energy - production, not protein - making directly. Flagella and cilia are mainly related to cell movement. Ribosomes are the organelles responsible for protein synthesis. Since the patient has an issue with protein - making due to a damaged organelle, and ribosomes are key for protein synthesis, the damaged organelle is likely ribosomes. But among the given options, none is ribosomes. However, based on the knowledge of organelle functions, we can eliminate options that are not related to protein - making.

Answer:

None of the above options are correct as the most likely organelle affected is ribosomes and it is not among A. mitochondria, B. flagella, C. cilia.