NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination) · USA / Canada · International Council for Veterinary Assessment (ICVA); scored by NBME, delivered by Prometric
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe female reproductive tract, the oestrous cycle and its hormones, heat detection and synchronisation, infertility and pregnancy diagnosis, with emphasis on cows and buffaloes.
In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 07; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (ARGO); Nepal NLEV Theriogenology 8; China clinical paper obstetrics 15; EGEL Plus reproduction and genetics 15
NAVLE, RCVS SME, Australasian AVE, SAVC registration
Species-weighted clinical reasoning: dairy herd fertility indices, timed AI, endometritis classification, mare breeding management, canine ovulation timing and pyometra.
How our questions for NAVLE spread across the units of Veterinary Gynaecology & Reproductive Endocrinology. Difficulty: 2 easy, 18 medium, 6 hard.
| Pregnancy diagnosis | 5 | |
| The oestrous cycle | 3 | |
| Heat detection | 3 | |
| Oestrus synchronisation protocols | 3 | |
| Endometritis | 3 | |
| Female reproductive anatomy | 2 | |
| Anoestrus | 2 | |
| Cystic ovarian disease | 2 | |
| Reproductive hormones | 1 | |
| Repeat breeding | 1 | |
| Infertility in cows and buffaloes | 1 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
Why is frozen semen in sheep commonly deposited by laparoscopy rather than through the cervix?
C. The ewe's cervix has tight, offset rings that are hard to pass
The tortuous, misaligned cervical rings of the ewe prevent easy transcervical passage, so laparoscopic intrauterine AI gives better results with frozen semen. It is the sow, not the ewe, that lacks a vaginal portion of the cervix.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
Which statement about the cervix of the sow is correct?
C. It has interdigitating pads that lock the boar's corkscrew penis and no vaginal portion
The porcine cervix has interlocking pads that grip the boar's spiral glans and has no vaginal portion, so AI catheters are designed to engage it. Annular rings describe the cow; longitudinal folds with a protruding cervix describe the mare.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
A queen kept indoors without a tom appears to be in heat almost continuously during spring. The best explanation is:
A. Without mating she does not ovulate, so follicles regress and new heats follow closely
The queen is an induced ovulator; unmated, she does not form corpora lutea, and oestrous periods of about a week recur every couple of weeks through the long-day season, giving the impression of continuous heat.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
Which hormone, measured in the blood, is a specific pregnancy test in the bitch?
C. Relaxin
Canine relaxin comes only from the placenta. Progesterone is similar in pregnant and non-pregnant dioestrous bitches and cannot diagnose pregnancy.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
A beef cow in good condition, suckling a 60-day-old calf, has not cycled. Ovaries show follicles up to 9 mm and no CL. The most appropriate treatment is:
C. Progesterone device for 7-9 days, PGF2α and eCG at removal, and temporary calf separation
She is anovular, so PGF2α alone has no CL to act on. Progesterone priming with eCG, combined with reducing the suckling stimulus, gives the best chance of ovulation.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
A bitch that has not shown her first oestrus by about two years of age has:
D. Primary anoestrus
Failure to show oestrus by about 24 months is primary anoestrus; secondary anoestrus is failure to return after previously cycling.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
Persistent breeding-induced endometritis in mares is typically managed by:
A. Uterine lavage a few hours after breeding and oxytocin to promote fluid clearance
Susceptible mares fail to clear the normal post-breeding inflammation; lavage and ecbolics such as oxytocin assist clearance. Progesterone would suppress uterine defence and worsen infection.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
An 8-year-old intact bitch is depressed, polydipsic and vomiting 5 weeks after oestrus, with no vaginal discharge and an enlarged uterus on ultrasound. The best course is:
C. Stabilise with fluids and antimicrobials, then ovariohysterectomy
Closed-cervix pyometra is an emergency with risk of rupture and sepsis; ovariohysterectomy after stabilisation is the treatment of choice. Progestogens would worsen the condition.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
A mare tests positive for eCG at 70 days but no fetus is seen on ultrasound. The best explanation is:
B. The embryo died after the endometrial cups formed, and the cups persist producing eCG
Endometrial cups form around day 35-40 and continue to secrete eCG even if the conceptus is lost, giving false positives; ultrasound is the definitive test.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
A bitch's LH surge was determined to be on 1 May 2026. Using 65 days from the LH surge, when is whelping expected?
A. 5 July 2026
1 May + 65 days = 5 July 2026. 3 July would be 63 days, the interval counted from ovulation (about two days after the LH surge), not from the surge; 7 July applies the 65 days from ovulation (3 May) instead of from the surge.
Further reading: Noakes, Parkinson & England, Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition
Ten here, 26 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to NAVLE 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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