National Veterinary Examination (獣医師国家試験) · Japan · Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), with the Veterinary Affairs Council
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersSafe sedation and anaesthesia across species: premedication, local and regional blocks, injectable and inhalant anaesthesia, monitoring, emergencies and pain management.
In the exams: BCSE anaesthesia 20-23 items; ECFVG / NEB CPE anaesthesia section (about 4 h, pass/fail); AVE Anaesthesia OSCE; EAEVE Day One competences
How our questions for National Veterinary Examination spread across the units of Veterinary Anaesthesiology & Analgesia. Difficulty: 18 easy, 52 medium, 10 hard.
| Pre-anaesthetic medication | 9 | |
| Anaesthetic monitoring | 9 | |
| Anaesthetic emergencies | 9 | |
| Species-specific anaesthetic protocols | 9 | |
| Injectable anaesthesia | 8 | |
| Inhalant anaesthesia | 8 | |
| Multimodal analgesia | 8 | |
| Epidural anaesthesia | 6 | |
| Pain scoring | 6 | |
| Cornual nerve block | 4 | |
| Paravertebral block | 4 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Which pair of signs indicates a successful proximal paravertebral block on the left side of a cow?
A. Warm skin over the left flank and scoliosis convex towards the left
Sympathetic blockade causes vasodilation and a warmer flank, and paralysis of the epaxial muscles on the blocked side makes the spine curve with its convexity towards that side. Muscle spasm, ear drooping and tail tone are not features of a paravertebral block.
A 500 kg cow receives a proximal paravertebral block with 15 mL of 2% lidocaine below and 5 mL above the intertransverse ligament at each of three sites. What total mass of lidocaine has been given?
C. 1,200 mg
Volume per site = 15 + 5 = 20 mL; total = 3 x 20 = 60 mL. A 2% solution is 20 mg/mL, so 60 x 20 = 1200 mg (2.4 mg/kg in a 500 kg cow). The 900 mg answer forgets the dorsal-branch injections (45 mL); 120 mg uses 2 mg/mL; 12,000 mg uses 200 mg/mL. (Dose figures in the question are for calculation practice — confirm against the product label and your national formulary.)
What is a recognised disadvantage of the inverted L block compared with a paravertebral block for flank surgery in cattle?
C. It needs more drug and relaxes the deep abdominal muscles less completely
The inverted L is a field block: easy but volume-hungry, with less reliable deep muscle relaxation. Scoliosis and deep needle placement are features of the proximal paravertebral block, and pelvic-limb paralysis is not expected from either technique when done correctly.
A 15 kg dog is induced with propofol at 4 mg/kg. Propofol is supplied at 10 mg/mL. What volume is the calculated dose?
A. 6 mL
Dose = 4 mg/kg x 15 kg = 60 mg. Volume = 60 mg / 10 mg/mL = 6 mL, given slowly to effect. The 60 mL answer confuses mg with mL; 0.6 mL is a tenfold slip; 3.75 mL divides 15 by 4. (Dose figures in the question are for calculation practice — confirm against the product label and your national formulary.)
In a dog at a light-to-medium surgical plane of inhalant anaesthesia, what is the typical eye position?
B. Ventromedial, with a reduced palpebral reflex
In dogs and cats the eye rotates ventromedially in the surgical plane; as anaesthesia deepens it returns to a central position with a dilated pupil and absent reflexes, a sign of excessive depth. A central eye with brisk reflexes suggests light anaesthesia or ketamine.
A 20 kg dog in cardiopulmonary arrest is to receive low-dose adrenaline at 0.01 mg/kg IV using a 1 mg/mL (1:1000) solution. What volume is given?
D. 0.2 mL
Dose = 0.01 mg/kg x 20 kg = 0.2 mg; at 1 mg/mL, volume = 0.2 mL. The 2 mL answer is the volume if a 1:10,000 (0.1 mg/mL) solution were used with the wrong label; 0.02 and 20 mL are tenfold and hundredfold slips. (Dose figures in the question are for calculation practice — confirm against the product label and your national formulary.)
Why is heart rate alone a poor indicator of pain in hospitalised animals?
D. Fear, stress, hypovolaemia and drugs also change it, so it lacks specificity
Physiological variables such as heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure do rise with pain but also with fear, stress, hypovolaemia, fever and drugs, so they are unreliable alone; validated behaviour-based scales perform better. The other statements are false.
Which property describes buprenorphine?
C. Partial mu agonist with slow onset, long duration and high receptor affinity
Buprenorphine is a partial mu agonist with slow onset, long action, a ceiling effect and high affinity, which makes it hard to displace with naloxone or full agonists. The first option describes fentanyl, the second butorphanol and the fourth naloxone.
Which drug reverses respiratory depression and sedation caused by a full mu opioid agonist?
A. Naloxone
Naloxone is a pure opioid antagonist; it also reverses analgesia, so it is titrated carefully. Atipamezole and yohimbine antagonise alpha-2 agonists; flumazenil antagonises benzodiazepines.
A horse is anaesthetised in lateral recumbency. How is the lower (dependent) forelimb positioned to reduce the risk of radial nerve paralysis?
D. Pulled forward so the weight of the chest is not on the triceps and radial nerve
Drawing the lower forelimb cranially moves the triceps and radial nerve out from under the thorax, reducing compression neuropathy and myopathy; thick padding also helps. The other positions increase compression.
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