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RCVS Statutory Membership Examination Laboratory Animal Science & Medicine: practice questions

RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) · UK · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
10worked here, free
20written to this exam in this subject
8syllabus units

About RCVS Statutory Membership Examination

RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) is a licensing and registration exam run by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, for candidates in UK. Written (online, remotely proctored, March): 367 single-best-answer vignettes with 5 options, about 2 hours per domain paper, no negative marking, no compensation between domains. Plus an open-book Code of Professional Conduct paper: 60 MCQs, 2 h 15 min. OSCE (September, in person, 5-7 days): 15-20 minute stations with two examiners each.

Source: rcvs.org.uk.

Checked against the exam body's published information. Formats and fees change; confirm the current edition there before you book.

Laboratory Animal Science & Medicine in RCVS Statutory Membership Examination

Understanding of the 3Rs, the legal basis of animal experimentation (ASPA and the named persons in the UK, Directive 2010/63/EU), humane endpoints and euthanasia, and safe handling of rabbits and rodents.

Biology, housing and health monitoring of laboratory animals, their common diseases, the 3Rs, ethics committees and experimental techniques.

Our 20 RCVS Statutory Membership Examination questions in this subject: 10 easy, 9 medium, 1 hard, across 8 units.

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

These 10 were written to RCVS Statutory Membership Examination and are not shown on any other exam's page.

Question 1 · medium

During a health check, a technician restrains a rabbit by the scruff without supporting the hindquarters. The rabbit kicks violently and is then unable to use its hind legs. What is the most likely injury?

  1. Rupture of the cranial cruciate ligaments
  2. Bilateral luxation of the hip joints
  3. Fracture or luxation of the lumbar spine
  4. Traumatic avulsion of the sciatic nerve roots
Answer and working

C. Fracture or luxation of the lumbar spine

The rabbit skeleton is light relative to its powerful hind-limb muscles; an unsupported kick can fracture or luxate the lumbar spine, causing hind-limb paralysis. This is why the hindquarters are always supported. Cruciate rupture, hip luxation or nerve-root avulsion would not typically produce sudden bilateral paralysis from this mechanism.

Question 2 · medium

The urine of a healthy adult rabbit on a standard pelleted diet is thick and creamy-white. What does this most likely indicate?

  1. Normal excretion of excess dietary calcium as calcium carbonate crystals
  2. Pyuria from ascending pasteurellosis of the urinary tract that needs treatment
  3. Chyluria from lymphatic obstruction caused by an abdominal tumour
  4. Proteinuria from early encephalitozoonosis affecting the renal tubules
Answer and working

A. Normal excretion of excess dietary calcium as calcium carbonate crystals

Rabbits absorb calcium in proportion to dietary intake and excrete the excess in urine, so cloudy, crystal-rich urine is normal; very high calcium diets predispose to urolithiasis. Pus, chyle or protein are not the usual cause of this appearance in a healthy animal.

Question 3 · easy

Matted, crusted fur on the inner surfaces of a rabbit's forelegs together with nasal discharge most strongly suggests which condition?

  1. Ulcerative pododermatitis from wire flooring and wet bedding
  2. Dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton mentagrophytes
  3. Snuffles, a rhinitis due chiefly to Pasteurella multocida
  4. Rabbit syphilis caused by Treponema paraluiscuniculi
Answer and working

C. Snuffles, a rhinitis due chiefly to Pasteurella multocida

Rabbits wipe nasal discharge with their forepaws, matting the fur; with nasal discharge this is classic snuffles. Pododermatitis affects the hock plantar surface; ringworm causes patchy alopecia; rabbit syphilis causes crusts on the genitals and face.

Question 4 · medium

A rabbit with chronic nasal discharge develops a head tilt and rolls when handled. Which disease is the most important differential for the head tilt, besides Pasteurella otitis?

  1. Tyzzer's disease
  2. Hepatic coccidiosis
  3. Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection
  4. Myxomatosis
Answer and working

C. Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection

Head tilt in rabbits is classically due to Pasteurella otitis media/interna or to Encephalitozoon cuniculi, a microsporidian causing granulomatous encephalitis. Imaging of the bullae and serology help separate them. Tyzzer's disease, hepatic coccidiosis and myxomatosis do not typically cause vestibular signs.

Question 5 · easy

What are the ARRIVE guidelines for?

  1. Classifying the severity of procedures under EU Directive 2010/63/EU
  2. Complete reporting of animal studies so that others are able to assess and repeat them
  3. Setting minimum cage sizes for rodents and rabbits
  4. Accrediting animal facilities against international care standards
Answer and working

B. Complete reporting of animal studies so that others are able to assess and repeat them

ARRIVE (version 2.0, 2020) sets out what to report in publications, with an 'Essential 10' set. Severity classes come from Directive 2010/63/EU, cage minima from Annex III or the Guide, and accreditation from bodies such as AAALAC International.

Question 6 · easy

From what date did Directive 2010/63/EU apply in EU member states?

  1. 1 January 2010
  2. 1 January 2013
  3. 24 November 1986
  4. 1 January 2020
Answer and working

B. 1 January 2013

Adopted in 2010, the Directive applied from 1 January 2013, replacing Directive 86/609/EEC (adopted on 24 November 1986).

Question 7 · hard

Under Directive 2010/63/EU, which projects must undergo retrospective assessment?

  1. Those using non-human primates or involving severe procedures
  2. Every project, whatever its severity, species or purpose
  3. Only projects that use dogs, cats or animals caught in the wild
  4. Only projects carried out for regulatory toxicity testing
Answer and working

A. Those using non-human primates or involving severe procedures

Retrospective assessment is compulsory for projects using non-human primates and those with severe procedures; the competent authority may require it for others. It is not automatic for every project, for projects using dogs, cats or wild-caught animals, or for regulatory work.

Question 8 · easy

Which four categories does Directive 2010/63/EU use to classify the severity of procedures?

  1. None, minor, major and terminal
  2. Non-recovery, mild, moderate and severe
  3. B, C, D and E
  4. Grade 1, grade 2, grade 3 and grade 4
Answer and working

B. Non-recovery, mild, moderate and severe

The Directive uses non-recovery, mild, moderate and severe, and requires actual severity to be reported. B, C, D and E are the USDA pain categories, a common confusion.

Question 9 · medium

In which part of the abdomen is an intraperitoneal injection usually given in a mouse or rat, and why?

  1. The upper left quadrant, to inject directly over the liver for rapid absorption
  2. The umbilical midline, where the abdominal wall is thinnest
  3. The lower left quadrant, to avoid the liver, which lies mainly on the right
  4. The lower right quadrant, to avoid the caecum, bladder and midline structures
Answer and working

D. The lower right quadrant, to avoid the caecum, bladder and midline structures

The rodent caecum lies largely on the left, so the lower right quadrant reduces the chance of injecting into the gut; the bladder and midline are avoided. Injecting over the liver risks laceration, and the midline risks bladder injection.

Question 10 · medium

When is toe clipping acceptable as an identification method for mice in jurisdictions that allow it?

  1. In adult mice whenever ear tags are too costly
  2. In any mouse of any age, provided a topical anaesthetic cream is applied first
  3. Only in neonates, and only when no other identification method is suitable
  4. Only in rats, because mouse digits regenerate
Answer and working

C. Only in neonates, and only when no other identification method is suitable

Toe clipping removes part of a digit and is limited to neonates where no alternative is suitable. Ear punches, tattoos and transponders are preferred. Cost is not a justification, and there is no rule restricting the method to rats.

A study plan for Laboratory Animal Science & Medicine in RCVS Statutory Membership Examination

This plan follows where our questions actually fall, so the time goes where the marks are likely to be. It is our reading of the syllabus, not the exam body's weighting.

  1. First, the heavy units (60% of the 20 questions): Animal ethics committees: CPCSEA, IACUC and EU Directive 2010/63 (5, 25%); Experimental techniques (4, 20%); Biology of laboratory species (3, 15%).

    Read the manual chapters for these first and do every worked question you can find on them.

  2. Then the middle band: The 3Rs: replacement, reduction and refinement (3, 15%); Pasteurellosis (2, 10%); Health monitoring (1, 5%).

    Aim for one sitting per unit, then mixed questions across them.

  3. Then the lighter units: Housing of laboratory animals (1, 5%); Murine respiratory mycoplasmosis (1, 5%).

    Learn the definitions, classifications and standard numbers; these units are more often recalled than worked.

  4. Leave time for the hard ones: Animal ethics committees: CPCSEA, IACUC and EU Directive 2010/63 (1 hard of 5).

    Come back to these after a first pass, untimed, and read every explanation, including for the options you rejected.

  5. Bank the easy marks: Health monitoring (1 easy of 1); Housing of laboratory animals (1 easy of 1).

    Do these early in revision so they are fast on the day.

  6. Finish timed. Sit the subject as a timed set without notes, mark it, and send each wrong answer back to its unit above.

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