NEB Certificate of Qualification

Canada · CVMA National Examining Board · licensing

152practice questions written to this syllabus
7subjects

Format

Document evaluation, then language, BCSE, NAVLE and CPE. Candidates enrolled after 1 Jan 2015 must also have one ovariohysterectomy as primary surgeon plus 5 procedures in the past 5 years.

Sections

Over the years

CPE Manual 2026 published. Provincial jurisprudence exams are unverified.

Official source: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/accreditation-and-national-examining-board/national-examining-board/

Subjects this exam draws on

Livestock Production Management I: General Principles and Ruminants1 questionsSpecial Pathology, Necropsy & Clinical Pathology6 questionsVeterinary Anaesthesiology & Analgesia16 questionsDiagnostic Imaging: Radiology and Ultrasonography5 questionsEquine Medicine, Surgery & Practice22 questionsEmergency & Critical Care, Fluid Therapy and Euthanasia34 questionsVeterinary Clinical Practice (Veterinary Clinical Complex)68 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. Which bulk-tank somatic cell count limit applies to Grade A cow milk in the United States?

  1. 400,000 cells/mL
  2. 750,000 cells/mL
  3. 200,000 cells/mL
  4. 1,500,000 cells/mL
Answer and working

B. 750,000 cells/mL

The US Pasteurized Milk Ordinance sets 750,000 cells/mL for cow milk. 400,000 is the EU and Canadian limit; 1,500,000 is the US limit for goat milk.

Livestock Production Management I: General Principles and Ruminants · Clean milk production

2. At necropsy of a horse with colic, why should the position of the intestine be recorded before any organ is removed?

  1. Removal causes post-mortem rupture that mimics colic
  2. A displacement, volvulus or torsion cannot be confirmed once the bowel has been moved
  3. The bowel must be fixed in situ with formalin before histopathology samples can be taken
  4. Intestinal position shows the time since death
Answer and working

B. A displacement, volvulus or torsion cannot be confirmed once the bowel has been moved

Positional lesions exist only in situ; lifting the bowel undoes or creates twists. Post-mortem ruptures do occur, but they are recognised by clean edges without haemorrhage, not prevented by in-situ inspection.

Special Pathology, Necropsy & Clinical Pathology · Post-mortem technique

3. A dog with a bleeding splenic mass is hypovolaemic. Why should acepromazine be avoided in its premedication?

  1. It is a potent opioid that causes severe respiratory depression in shocked dogs
  2. It raises blood pressure sharply and so worsens bleeding from the splenic mass
  3. Its alpha-1 blockade causes vasodilation and hypotension that cannot be reversed
  4. It inhibits platelet COX-1 permanently and so prevents clot formation at surgery
Answer and working

C. Its alpha-1 blockade causes vasodilation and hypotension that cannot be reversed

Acepromazine blocks peripheral alpha-1 adrenoceptors, causing vasodilation; a hypovolaemic animal depends on vasoconstriction to hold its blood pressure, and there is no antagonist. It is a phenothiazine, not an opioid; it lowers rather than raises pressure; and irreversible COX-1 inhibition is the action of aspirin.

Veterinary Anaesthesiology & Analgesia · Pre-anaesthetic medication

4. A dog is placed on its back and the X-ray beam passes from its ventral to its dorsal surface. The projection is called:

  1. Right lateral
  2. Dorsoventral (DV)
  3. Craniocaudal
  4. Ventrodorsal (VD)
Answer and working

D. Ventrodorsal (VD)

Projections are named from where the beam enters to where it exits. Ventral entry and dorsal exit is ventrodorsal, with the animal in dorsal recumbency. DV has the animal on its sternum.

Diagnostic Imaging: Radiology and Ultrasonography · Radiographic positioning

5. Why is gastric rupture a real risk in a horse with small-intestinal obstruction?

  1. A strong cardiac sphincter and oblique oesophageal entry stop the horse from vomiting, so fluid accumulates until the stomach ruptures
  2. The stomach lies entirely within the pelvic inlet in horses, so it is compressed by the colon and bursts as soon as the colon fills
  3. The equine stomach has no muscular layer in its wall, so even a modest volume of gas tears the mucosa and then the serosa within minutes
  4. Horses secrete gastric acid only when fasting, and the acid digests the stomach wall during an obstruction until it perforates
Answer and working

A. A strong cardiac sphincter and oblique oesophageal entry stop the horse from vomiting, so fluid accumulates until the stomach ruptures

The horse effectively cannot vomit because of a strong cardiac sphincter and the oblique angle at which the oesophagus enters the stomach, so reflux from an obstruction accumulates and can rupture the stomach; this is why nasogastric decompression matters. The equine stomach does have a muscular wall, and it lies in the cranial abdomen, not the pelvis.

Equine Medicine, Surgery & Practice · Colic

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