You are asked to evaluate a 26-year-old male patient who pre…

You are asked to evaluate a 26-year-old male patient who presents complaining of left anterior knee pain.  The patient notes that when he is seated for a long period of time at the movies, the left knee pain is significantly worse when he tries to stand up and take the first few steps.  The pain gradually diminishes as he walks further.  The patient also notes occasional “locking of the joint” during the time since these left knee symptoms first began, approximately one month ago.  Which of the following interventions is most appropriate for this patient?

A 42-year-old female is noted to have a solitary pulmonary n…

A 42-year-old female is noted to have a solitary pulmonary nodule in the right upper lobe on a routine plain chest film. This was not evident on a chest film taken one year earlier. The patient has a history of invasive ductal carcinoma of the right breast; she underwent a mastectomy 6 years ago. At that time, no lymph nodes were involved. She has remained disease free for the past 6 years until the plain chest film confirmed the pulmonary nodule.  She has no known risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis.  The patient smokes 5 cigarettes/day. She denies hemoptysis or other pulmonic or constitutional symptoms and denies recent domestic or foreign travel.   On physical exam, her temperature is 98.2°F. She has no lymphadenopathy or abnormal palpable breast masses on the left side. Her CBC is normal. A Chest CT scan revealed    only a nodular opacity in the right upper lobe measuring 2 cm x 1.5 cm.  Which of the following interventions is the most appropriate next step in the diagnostic evaluation of    this patient?