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 papersEveryday dog and cat practice: puppy and kitten care, vaccination and parasite control, nutrition, the common diseases by system, behaviour, old age and emergencies.
In the exams: NAVLE canine 25.6% and feline 24.3% (about half the exam); RCVS SME companion animal 175 of 367 items; AVE Paper 2 dogs at least 14; China comprehensive paper dog and cat 25
BCSE, PAVE QSE and ECFVG (foreign-graduate routes to North America)
Small-animal medicine is the largest BCSE block: interpreting bloodwork and urinalysis, endocrine tests, choosing the next diagnostic step, and the ECFVG/NEB clinical exam's small-animal medicine section.
How our questions for BCSE spread across the units of Companion Animal Practice: Breeding, Management, Nutrition and Health Care. Difficulty: 19 easy, 51 medium, 17 hard.
| Emergency medicine | 13 | |
| Endocrine disease | 8 | |
| Renal disease | 7 | |
| Puppy and kitten care | 6 | |
| Vaccination: WSAVA core and non-core vaccines | 6 | |
| Parasite control in dogs and cats | 6 | |
| Pet nutrition | 6 | |
| Gastroenterology | 6 | |
| Cardiology | 6 | |
| Dermatology | 5 | |
| Oncology | 5 | |
| Geriatric care | 5 | |
| Dog and cat breeds | 4 | |
| Behaviour | 4 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Because neonatal puppies and kittens cannot regulate body temperature and have little glycogen, which three problems together cause most 'fading'?
B. Hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and dehydration
The neonatal triad is hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and dehydration, each worsening the others. The other combinations do not follow from immature thermoregulation and small energy reserves.
Further reading: BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Reproduction and Neonatology
A kitten is first vaccinated with core vaccines at 9 weeks. Following WSAVA advice with 4-week intervals, how many primary doses will it receive before the 26-week dose?
C. 3
Doses at 9, 13 and 17 weeks. After the 13-week dose the kitten is still under 16 weeks, so a third at 17 weeks is needed; that one is at 16 weeks or older, so the series ends. Answering 1 relies on the single 9-week dose; answering 2 stops at 13 weeks, before MDA can be assumed gone.
Further reading: WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines 2024
A cat eats a single meal lacking arginine and within hours is vomiting and ataxic. What is the mechanism?
A. Without arginine the urea cycle stalls and ammonia accumulates
Arginine is an intermediate of the urea cycle and cats make little of it. Because cats keep amino acid catabolism high after a meal, an arginine-free meal causes hyperammonaemia within hours. Taurine and vitamin A deficiencies take months.
Further reading: Nelson and Couto
A dog has cystic struvite uroliths and a urine culture growing Staphylococcus pseudintermedius. What is the usual management?
C. Dissolution diet with an appropriate antimicrobial until stones dissolve
Canine struvite is usually infection-induced: urease-producing bacteria split urea to ammonia, alkalinising urine. A struvite dissolution diet plus antimicrobials dissolves the stones; imaging monitors progress. Potassium citrate alkalinises urine, which favours struvite.
Further reading: ACVIM consensus on uroliths 2016
Which factor most improves the chance of diabetic remission in a newly diagnosed cat?
A. Early tight glycaemic control plus a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet
Feline diabetes is type 2-like; controlling glucose quickly relieves glucotoxicity so beta cells can recover. A low-carbohydrate diet supports this. Progestogens and glucocorticoids cause insulin resistance and can trigger diabetes.
Further reading: AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines 2018
A 20 kg dog is to start 0.25 U/kg of a U-40 insulin, but the owner has only U-100 syringes. To which mark on the U-100 syringe would they have to draw to give the correct dose?
D. 12.5 units
Dose = 20 x 0.25 = 5 U. U-40 has 40 U/mL, so 5 U = 0.125 mL. On a U-100 syringe, 0.125 mL is the 12.5 mark. Drawing to the 5 mark gives 0.05 mL = 2 U (an underdose); 40 units draws to the insulin's own concentration (U-40) instead of the dose. The safe answer in practice is to dispense matching U-40 syringes. Confirm any dose against the product label and your national formulary.
Further reading: AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines 2018
A 10-year-old dog has polyuria, polyphagia, panting, a pot belly and raised ALP. Which is the preferred screening test for hyperadrenocorticism?
D. Low-dose dexamethasone suppression test
The LDDST has the higher sensitivity and is the preferred screening test in dogs with compatible signs. The ACTH stimulation test is less sensitive but is used for iatrogenic disease and monitoring. The high-dose test differentiates pituitary from adrenal disease after diagnosis.
Further reading: ACVIM consensus on canine hyperadrenocorticism 2012
How should adult Dobermanns be screened for dilated cardiomyopathy?
B. Echocardiography plus 24-hour Holter ECG, repeated regularly
In Dobermanns, ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death can precede dilation and murmurs, so annual echocardiography plus Holter monitoring is advised from young adulthood. A single resting ECG misses intermittent arrhythmias. Taurine deficiency is not the cause in this breed.
Further reading: European Society of Veterinary Cardiology DCM screening guidance
An 11-year-old Labrador has a changed bark, loud inspiratory stridor and collapses after exercise on hot days. What is the most likely diagnosis?
B. Laryngeal paralysis
Laryngeal paralysis is typical of older large breeds, often part of a generalised polyneuropathy; failure of arytenoid abduction causes inspiratory stridor, voice change and heat intolerance. Tracheal collapse is a small-breed disease with a honking cough.
Further reading: Ettinger
According to AAHA life-stage guidance, when does a dog or cat become 'senior'?
B. The last 25% of expected lifespan
Lifespan differs by species, breed and size, so senior status is defined as the last quarter of predicted lifespan; a giant-breed dog is senior much earlier than a small terrier. Seniors are examined at least every six months.
Further reading: AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines; AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines
Ten here, 87 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to BCSE in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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