40 questions, 4 hours. General section 25% of the score; veterinary-specific 75%. 2023 specific section: 29 MCQs and 1 essay.
Sections
General section 25%
Veterinary-specific section 75%
Over the years
A programme evaluation at the end of the degree, not a licence. 2019 specific section: 27 MCQs and 3 essays. Veterinary sits in Year III of the 3-year cycle; not held in 2026.
Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. How many carpal bones are normally present in the ox?
7
8
6
5
Answer and working
C. 6
The ox carpus has radial, intermediate, ulnar and accessory bones proximally, and a fused second-and-third carpal and a fourth carpal distally: 6. The first carpal is absent. Seven is the dog (radial and intermediate fused) and 7-8 the horse.
Veterinary Gross Anatomy · Comparative osteology
2. A practitioner has to fix a liver biopsy of about 15 cm³ and wants to follow the recommendation of 20 volumes of fixative per volume of tissue. What is the minimum volume of 10% neutral buffered formalin needed?
315 mL
300 mL
150 mL
35 mL
Answer and working
B. 300 mL
Volume of fixative = 20 x tissue volume = 20 x 15 cm³ = 300 cm³ = 300 mL. 150 mL is the tenfold minimum (10 x 15), which is the absolute floor, not the stated recommendation; 35 mL comes from adding 20 and 15 instead of multiplying; 315 mL adds the tissue's own 15 mL to the fixative. Too little fixative leaves the centre of the tissue autolysed.
3. For each molecule of ATP hydrolysed, the sodium-potassium ATPase moves which ions?
3 sodium ions into the cell and 2 potassium ions out
3 sodium ions out of the cell and 2 potassium ions in
2 sodium ions out of the cell and 3 potassium ions in
1 sodium ion out and 1 potassium ion in
Answer and working
B. 3 sodium ions out of the cell and 2 potassium ions in
The pump exports 3 Na+ and imports 2 K+ per ATP, so it moves one net positive charge out and is electrogenic. Reversing the numbers is the usual slip; a 1:1 exchange would be electroneutral.
Veterinary Physiology I: Body Fluids, Blood, Circulation, Respiration and Excretion · Cellular basis of physiology
4. Which cells of the gastric fundic glands secrete hydrochloric acid in mammals?
Chief (peptic) cells
G cells
Mucous neck cells
Parietal (oxyntic) cells
Answer and working
D. Parietal (oxyntic) cells
Parietal cells secrete H+ through the H+/K+ ATPase. Chief cells secrete pepsinogen, not acid; G cells in the antrum secrete gastrin, which stimulates acid secretion but is not acid itself.
Veterinary Physiology II: Digestion, Muscle, Nerve, Endocrinology, Reproduction, Lactation, Growth and Climate · Digestion in monogastric animals
5. Lactose, the sugar of milk, is made of which two monosaccharides?
Glucose and fructose
Galactose and glucose
Glucose and glucose
Galactose and fructose
Answer and working
B. Galactose and glucose
Lactose is galactose beta-1,4 glucose. Glucose plus fructose is sucrose, and two glucose units form maltose.
Veterinary Biochemistry · Biomolecules and their interactions
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