BCSE (Basic & Clinical Sciences Examination) · USA / Canada · ICVA; administered through CVMA-NEB and AVMA-ECFVG
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersClinical examination and special diagnostics, general systemic states, and the diseases of each body system, with fluid therapy and transfusion.
In the exams: NAVLE clinical practice 70%; BCSE medicine 50-55 items (its largest block); PRC Medicine 14%; Nepal NLEV 8; EGEL Plus diagnosis 17 and therapeutics 18; ICAR AICE-JRF core group 07; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (Medicine)
BCSE (foreign graduates, USA/Canada)
Medicine is the largest block: pathophysiology-based questions on shock, anaemia classification, azotaemia with USG, heart failure, and interpretation of urinalysis, effusions and rumen fluid.
How our questions for BCSE spread across the units of Veterinary Clinical Medicine I: General and Systemic. Difficulty: 0 easy, 49 medium, 9 hard.
| Fluid therapy and blood transfusion | 7 | |
| Special diagnostics: urinalysis, ophthalmoscopy, endoscopy and ultrasonography | 6 | |
| Special diagnostics: ECG, paracentesis and rumen fluid analysis | 5 | |
| Diseases of the nervous system | 5 | |
| Anaemia | 4 | |
| Colic | 4 | |
| Pulmonary diseases | 4 | |
| History taking and clinical examination | 3 | |
| Cardiovascular diseases | 3 | |
| Diseases of the urinary system | 3 | |
| Diseases of the skin | 3 | |
| Septicaemia and toxaemia | 2 | |
| Shock and dehydration | 2 | |
| Traumatic reticuloperitonitis | 2 | |
| Abomasal displacement | 2 | |
| Diseases of the musculoskeletal system | 2 | |
| Indigestion and ruminal tympany | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A dog has PCV 30%, RBC 6.0 × 10^6/µL and haemoglobin 10 g/dL. What are the MCV and MCHC?
C. MCV 50 fL; MCHC 33.3 g/dL
MCV = PCV × 10 ÷ RBC = 30 × 10 ÷ 6 = 50 fL. MCHC = Hb ÷ PCV × 100 = 10 ÷ 30 × 100 = 33.3 g/dL. Forgetting the ×10 or ×100 factors gives the wrong options; attaching the ×10 to MCHC instead of MCV gives 5 fL and 3.3 g/dL.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
An anaemic dog has 6% reticulocytes and PCV 15%. Using a normal PCV of 45%, the corrected reticulocyte percentage is:
A. 2%
Corrected % = observed % × patient PCV ÷ normal PCV = 6 × 15 ÷ 45 = 2%. Multiplying by 45/15 gives 18%, the common inversion error; forgetting to divide by 45 gives 90%.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A horse has marked expiratory effort with a double expiratory lift and a heave line. The problem is most likely located in:
B. The lower airways
Expiratory effort indicates lower (intrathoracic) airway obstruction, as in severe equine asthma. Upper airway obstruction causes inspiratory effort and noise.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A 3-day-old colt has abdominal distension and straining. Serum creatinine is 3.0 mg/dL and peritoneal fluid creatinine 8.0 mg/dL. The ratio and interpretation are:
D. About 2.7:1; consistent with uroperitoneum
8.0 ÷ 3.0 = 2.67. A peritoneal:serum creatinine ratio ≥ 2:1 confirms urine in the abdomen, classically bladder rupture in colts.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A horse with colic yields 6 litres of net gastric reflux on nasogastric intubation. The most important immediate significance is that:
A. The stomach needed decompression and small-intestinal obstruction or enteritis is likely
Net reflux above about 2 L is significant; it indicates proximal obstruction or ileus and risk of gastric rupture. Oral fluids are contraindicated.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A 3-month-old foal on a farm with endemic pneumonia has fever and cough; ultrasound shows multiple peripheral lung abscesses. The most likely agent is:
A. Rhodococcus equi
R. equi causes pyogranulomatous pneumonia with abscesses in foals of about 1–6 months.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
An adult ewe fed silage circles to the left, has a left head tilt, a drooping left ear and lip, and food in the left cheek. The most likely diagnosis is:
B. Listeriosis
Listeria ascends the trigeminal nerve to the brainstem, causing unilateral cranial nerve deficits; poorly fermented silage is the source.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A young dog has intense pruritus of the ear margins and elbows; the owner also has itchy papules. Skin scrapings are negative. Rubbing the ear margin causes the dog to scratch. The most likely diagnosis is:
C. Sarcoptic mange
Sarcoptes often evades scrapings; the pinnal-pedal reflex, distribution and zoonotic spread support it; trial treatment is common.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A 20 kg dog has PCV 12%; target PCV 25%; donor PCV 45%; blood volume 90 mL/kg. The whole blood volume needed is about:
C. 520 mL
Volume = 20 × 90 × (25 − 12) ÷ 45 = 520 mL. Using the target PCV instead of the difference gives 1000; using a feline blood volume (60 mL/kg) gives 347; 260 halves it, applying the packed-red-cell rule of thumb (1 mL/kg per 1% rise) to whole blood.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
A type B cat needs a transfusion. Why must type A blood never be given?
B. Type B cats have strong natural anti-A antibodies that can cause a fatal reaction on first transfusion
Strong anti-A alloantibodies in type B cats cause acute haemolytic reactions; always type cats.
Further reading: Constable et al., Veterinary Medicine 11th ed.; Ettinger & Feldman; Reed, Bayly & Sellon; DiBartola
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