Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.
1. Which domestic species normally has 18 thoracic vertebrae?
Ox
Dog
Pig
Horse
Answer and working
D. Horse
The horse formula is C7 T18 L6 S5 Cy15-21. The ox and dog have 13 thoracic vertebrae and the pig 14-15.
Veterinary Gross Anatomy · Comparative osteology
2. Which stain identifies amyloid by apple-green birefringence under polarised light?
Toluidine blue
Luxol fast blue
Congo red
Van Gieson
Answer and working
C. Congo red
Amyloid binds Congo red in an ordered way, giving apple-green birefringence when viewed between crossed polarisers; this is the standard confirmatory stain. Toluidine blue gives metachromasia with mast cell granules, van Gieson stains collagen red, and luxol fast blue stains myelin.
3. Glucose absorption by the sodium-glucose cotransporter (SGLT) in the intestine and proximal tubule is an example of:
Facilitated diffusion down the glucose concentration gradient
Secondary active transport driven by the sodium gradient
Receptor-mediated endocytosis
Primary active transport using ATP hydrolysed by the carrier itself
Answer and working
B. Secondary active transport driven by the sodium gradient
SGLT uses the downhill movement of sodium, whose gradient is built by the Na+/K+-ATPase, to move glucose uphill. It does not hydrolyse ATP itself, so it is secondary, not primary, active transport.
Veterinary Physiology I: Body Fluids, Blood, Circulation, Respiration and Excretion · Cellular basis of physiology
4. Which domestic mammal has no gall bladder?
Dog
Pig
Ox
Horse
Answer and working
D. Horse
The horse (like the rat) lacks a gall bladder and secretes bile continuously into the duodenum, which suits its near-continuous feeding. Dog, pig and ox all have a gall bladder that CCK contracts after a meal.
Veterinary Physiology II: Digestion, Muscle, Nerve, Endocrinology, Reproduction, Lactation, Growth and Climate · Digestion in monogastric animals
5. One international unit (U) of enzyme activity is the amount of enzyme that converts:
1 mole of substrate per second
1 millimole of substrate per minute
1 micromole of substrate per minute
1 nanomole of substrate per second
Answer and working
C. 1 micromole of substrate per minute
1 U = 1 micromol/min under defined conditions. 1 mol/s is the katal, the SI unit; 1 U = 16.67 nkat.
Veterinary Biochemistry · Enzymes and enzyme kinetics
Practise it, and prove it
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