An 18-year-old man comes to the urgent care clinic due to painful erythema affecting his extremities, trunk, and face. He is vacationing in Florida and spent 5 hours at a Gulf coast beach earlier in the day. The patient did not apply any sunscreen as it was cloudy. The physician explains that cloud cover does not afford a high degree of protection against the sun, especially with prolonged exposure in highly reflective environments like the beach. He is advised to wear protective clothing and apply sunscreen to prevent recurrence. Which of the following is most likely to happen within the patient's skin cells as a result of his exposure?

Question

An 18-year-old man comes to the urgent care clinic due to painful erythema affecting his extremities, trunk, and face.  He is vacationing in Florida and spent 5 hours at a Gulf coast beach earlier in the day.  The patient did not apply any sunscreen as it was cloudy.  The physician explains that cloud cover does not afford a high degree of protection against the sun, especially with prolonged exposure in highly reflective environments like the beach.  He is advised to wear protective clothing and apply sunscreen to prevent recurrence.  Which of the following is most likely to happen within the patient's skin cells as a result of his exposure?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Pyrimidine dimers are formed in DNA as a result of ultraviolet light exposure.  They are recognized by a specific endonuclease complex that initiates the process of repair by nicking the damaged strand on both sides of the pyrimidine dimer.  The damaged segment is then excised, and replacement DNA is synthesized by DNA polymerase.

An 18-Year-Old Man Comes to the Urgent Care Clinic Due