PLAB 1 Musculoskeletal Practice Questions
One of the ten areas in your GMC result · 52 practice questions with answers
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for musculoskeletal so you know where you stand.
Free musculoskeletal drillA 23-year-old woman has 4 days of fever and pain moving between several joints. There is painful swelling along the tendons on the back of her right wrist and hand, and a few small pustules on a red base over her hands and forearms. She has had a new sexual partner in the past month. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Musculoskeletal on PLAB 1
Musculoskeletal questions cover trauma and orthopaedics, rheumatology and back pain. The common traps are the red flags: the hot swollen joint that is septic arthritis until proven otherwise, back pain with cauda equina symptoms and the fracture that needs urgent reduction.
- In your GMC result
- Your percentage correct in musculoskeletal, next to the average for all candidates
- On our mock exam
- 14 of 180 questions, with your percentage for this area in the result
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 52 musculoskeletal questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What musculoskeletal questions test
- Fractures and dislocations: hip, wrist, ankle and scaphoid fractures, open fractures, compartment syndrome and neurovascular checks
- Back pain: red flags, cauda equina syndrome, metastatic spinal cord compression and nonspecific low back pain in primary care
- Inflammatory arthritis: rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, lupus and vasculitis
- Crystal and infective arthritis: gout, pseudogout and septic arthritis
- Bone health: osteoporosis assessment and treatment, Paget disease, and bone metastases and tumours
Sit the full 180 questions under the real clock
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for musculoskeletal so you know where you stand.
Free musculoskeletal drillHow to revise it
- Learn the first-line investigation and treatment for each joint presentation.
- Know which fractures need same-day orthopaedic review and which are managed in a cast or sling.
- Revise drug safety for methotrexate, steroids and bisphosphonates.
Common questions
How many musculoskeletal questions are on PLAB 1?
The GMC does not publish a count per area. Our mock papers include 14 musculoskeletal questions out of 180, and your mock result shows your percentage in this area.
Which guidance covers back pain?
NICE guidance on low back pain and sciatica, and NICE guidance on metastatic spinal cord compression. Questions test the red flags and the right urgency of referral.
180 questions across all ten areas in 3 hours, with a score for musculoskeletal so you know where you stand.
Free musculoskeletal drillThe other PLAB 1 areas
Sources
- GMC: What is the PLAB 1 exam? (180 questions, three hours, five options)
- GMC: PLAB 1 results (scoring, ten feedback areas, Angoff pass mark, exam and result dates)
- GMC: When and where can I take PLAB 1?
- GMC: Booking a PLAB 1 place (eligibility, attempt limit)
- GMC: Fees for doctors (PLAB fees from 1 April 2026)
- GMC: Additional PLAB 1 attempt
- GMC: Recent pass rates for PLAB 1 and PLAB 2
- GMC: MLA content map (September 2026)
- GMC: Changes to PLAB 1 in 2027
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to the GMC’s MLA content map (September 2026) and current UK guidance. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the General Medical Council (GMC). Follow current national and local guidance in clinical practice.