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 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
How our questions for National Veterinary Examination spread across the units of Veterinary Physiology II: Digestion, Muscle, Nerve, Endocrinology, Reproduction, Lactation, Growth and Climate. Difficulty: 26 easy, 16 medium, 4 hard.
| Digestion in monogastric animals | 5 | |
| Nervous system physiology | 5 | |
| Endocrinology | 5 | |
| Physiological basis of animal behaviour | 5 | |
| Digestion in birds | 4 | |
| Smooth and skeletal muscle contraction | 4 | |
| Reproductive physiology | 4 | |
| Ruminant fermentative digestion | 3 | |
| Lactation physiology | 3 | |
| Environmental physiology and heat stress | 3 | |
| Physiology of work and exercise | 3 | |
| Growth physiology | 2 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Crop milk, fed to squabs by both parents, is produced by which bird and under which hormone?
C. Pigeon, under prolactin
Pigeons and doves of both sexes produce crop milk from desquamated crop epithelium under prolactin. The fowl, duck and turkey do not produce crop milk.
Further reading: Scanes CG (ed), Sturkie's Avian Physiology, 6th ed.
Which compartment of the ruminant stomach is the true glandular stomach secreting acid and pepsin?
A. Abomasum
Rumen, reticulum and omasum are lined by non-glandular stratified squamous epithelium; only the abomasum secretes HCl and pepsinogen.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
A dog with a spinal cord lesion has paralysed pelvic limbs with increased muscle tone and brisk patellar reflexes. Where is the lesion most likely to be?
C. Between the third thoracic and third lumbar spinal cord segments (T3-L3)
Brisk reflexes and increased tone in the pelvic limbs are upper motor neuron signs, which place the lesion cranial to the lumbosacral intumescence, so T3-L3. A lesion at L4-S3 or in peripheral nerves damages the lower motor neuron, giving reduced reflexes and tone.
Further reading: de Lahunta A et al., Veterinary Neuroanatomy and Clinical Neurology, 5th ed.
The reflective layer behind the retina that improves vision in dim light in dogs, cats and cattle is the:
C. Tapetum lucidum
The tapetum reflects light back through the photoreceptors. The pig largely lacks one. The optic disc is where the nerve leaves; the ciliary body controls the lens.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Oxytocin and antidiuretic hormone are synthesised in the:
C. Supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus
They are made in hypothalamic neurons and transported down axons to the posterior pituitary, which stores and releases them. Choosing the posterior pituitary confuses storage with synthesis.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which zone of the adrenal cortex secretes aldosterone?
C. Zona glomerulosa
The glomerulosa secretes aldosterone under angiotensin II and potassium control. The fasciculata makes glucocorticoids under ACTH; the reticularis makes sex steroids; the medulla releases catecholamines.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Which of these species is an induced (reflex) ovulator?
C. Cat
In the queen, as in the rabbit and camelids, coital stimulation triggers the LH surge. Cow, ewe and sow are spontaneous ovulators.
Further reading: Senger PL, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition, 3rd ed.
Why must newborn calves, lambs, piglets and foals receive colostrum within the first hours of life?
C. Their placentas pass no immunoglobulin, and gut absorption of intact antibody declines rapidly after birth
Epitheliochorial and synepitheliochorial placentas block antibody transfer, so these neonates are born nearly agammaglobulinaemic. Enterocytes take up immunoglobulin by pinocytosis only for a limited period before gut closure, and efficiency falls within the first day.
Further reading: Reece WO et al. (eds), Dukes' Physiology of Domestic Animals, 13th ed.
Why do laying hens produce thin-shelled eggs during heat stress?
D. Panting causes respiratory alkalosis, reducing bicarbonate and ionised calcium for the shell gland
Loss of CO2 by panting raises blood pH, lowering plasma bicarbonate and ionised calcium; reduced feed intake also reduces calcium supply. Albumen production continues and heat does not dissolve shell directly.
Further reading: Scanes CG (ed), Sturkie's Avian Physiology, 6th ed.
The oestrous sow shows the standing response to back pressure most strongly in the presence of a boar. Which boar pheromone contributes to this?
D. Androstenone
Androstenone in boar saliva is a pheromone that facilitates the standing (lordosis) response, used in heat detection. The others are hormones, not pheromones released by the boar for this purpose.
Further reading: Houpt KA, Domestic Animal Behavior for Veterinarians and Animal Scientists, 6th ed.
Ten here, 46 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to National Veterinary Examination 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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