ICAR AIEEA (PG): Master's entrance, Veterinary Science and Animal Sciences · India · NTA for ICAR
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersDigestion in monogastrics, birds and ruminants, muscle and nerve, hormones, reproduction and lactation, growth, and the animal's response to climate and work.
In the exams: Same exams as Physiology I: ICAR JRF 08, AIEEA-PG 14, PRC, NLEV, China, AVE
ICAR AIEEA (PG) (Code 14 Animal Sciences: Physiology) and ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF core group 08
Mechanisms and species comparisons: rumen VFA and methane stoichiometry, oesophageal groove, avian proventriculus and gizzard, excitation-contraction coupling, synaptic transmitters, hypothalamic-pituitary hormones, maternal recognition of pregnancy, placental types, lactose and milk fat synthesis, GH-IGF-1 axis, thermoneutral zone, and THI.
How our questions for ICAR AIEEA spread across the units of Veterinary Physiology II: Digestion, Muscle, Nerve, Endocrinology, Reproduction, Lactation, Growth and Climate. Difficulty: 0 easy, 26 medium, 7 hard.
| Ruminant fermentative digestion | 4 | |
| Digestion in monogastric animals | 3 | |
| Smooth and skeletal muscle contraction | 3 | |
| Nervous system physiology | 3 | |
| Endocrinology | 3 | |
| Reproductive physiology | 3 | |
| Growth physiology | 3 | |
| Physiology of work and exercise | 3 | |
| Digestion in birds | 2 | |
| Lactation physiology | 2 | |
| Environmental physiology and heat stress | 2 | |
| Physiological basis of animal behaviour | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
The avian proventriculus differs from the mammalian gastric fundus because:
A. A single cell type secretes both hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen
In birds, oxynticopeptic cells combine the roles of mammalian parietal and chief cells. Koilin lines the gizzard, not the proventriculus, and glucose is absorbed in the small intestine.
Further reading: Scanes CG (ed), Sturkie's Avian Physiology, 6th ed.
Which function belongs to the secondary cycle of forestomach motility?
A. Moving gas towards the cardia for eructation
The secondary (eructation) cycle is a ruminal contraction sequence that clears gas forward; its failure leads to bloat. Mixing is the primary cycle; regurgitation is an extra reticular contraction linked to rumination; milk is directed by the reticular groove.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which substance is the main precursor of milk fat and body fat synthesis in ruminants?
C. Acetate
Ruminant adipose and mammary tissue synthesise fatty acids mainly from acetate (and beta-hydroxybutyrate), because the ruminant has little glucose to spare; low ATP-citrate lyase activity limits glucose use for lipogenesis. Propionate goes chiefly to glucose.
Further reading: McDonald P et al., Animal Nutrition, 7th ed.
In smooth muscle, the calcium-calmodulin complex causes contraction mainly by:
B. Activating myosin light-chain kinase, which phosphorylates myosin's regulatory light chain
Smooth muscle lacks troponin; regulation is on the thick filament through myosin light-chain phosphorylation. Myosin light-chain phosphatase reverses it. Troponin C is the skeletal and cardiac mechanism.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which property allows smooth muscle of the gut and blood vessels to maintain tone for long periods with low ATP use?
C. The latch state, in which dephosphorylated cross-bridges remain attached and cycle slowly
In the latch state cross-bridges stay attached after dephosphorylation and detach slowly, holding force cheaply. Smooth muscle remains calcium-dependent; the long refractory period is a cardiac feature that prevents tetanus.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which hormone acts mainly through an intracellular (nuclear) receptor?
D. Triiodothyronine (T3)
T3, like steroids, enters the cell and binds a nuclear receptor that regulates transcription. Adrenaline, glucagon and oxytocin act on cell-surface G-protein-coupled receptors.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
The placenta of the pig and the horse, in which six tissue layers separate maternal and fetal blood, is classified as:
A. Epitheliochorial
In the epitheliochorial placenta the uterine epithelium stays intact. Ruminants have synepitheliochorial placentas (with binucleate cell fusion), dogs and cats endotheliochorial, and primates and rodents haemochorial.
Further reading: Senger PL, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition, 3rd ed.
Lactose synthase consists of galactosyltransferase combined with which milk protein?
A. Alpha-lactalbumin
Alpha-lactalbumin modifies galactosyltransferase so it joins galactose to glucose. Because lactose draws water osmotically, alpha-lactalbumin indirectly governs milk volume. Beta-lactoglobulin is a whey protein with no role in lactose synthesis.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Newborn piglets are especially prone to hypothermia compared with newborn lambs because they:
B. Lack functional brown adipose tissue and have little body fat
Pigs lack functional uncoupling protein 1, so they depend on shivering and a warm environment; they are born with little fat and sparse hair. Lambs and calves have brown fat for non-shivering thermogenesis. Piglets can shiver.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which energy system supports a maximal effort lasting only a few seconds, such as the start of a sprint?
C. The phosphagen (creatine phosphate) system
Creatine kinase transfers phosphate from creatine phosphate to ADP almost instantly but the store lasts only seconds. Aerobic systems give much more ATP in total but at a lower maximal rate.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
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