A woman brings in a cockatiel bought from a pet store 3 weeks ago. The bird is fluffed, has conjunctivitis and lime-green urates, and you suspect Chlamydia psittaci infection and submit samples. She mentions that she has had a fever, headache and a dry cough for 4 days. Which of the following is the most appropriate thing to tell her?

See her physician promptly and mention the sick bird

Euthanize the bird today to remove the risk to her health

Wait for the bird's test results before seeing a physician

Take doxycycline dispensed from the clinic's pharmacy

Bird infections do not spread to people, so she can relax

Signalment: 5-year-old male Dachshund, acute onset after jumping off a couch Thoracic limbs: normal gait, postural reactions and reflexes Pelvic limbs: non-ambulatory paraparesis with absent proprioception Patellar and withdrawal reflexes: normal to increased bilaterally Cutaneous trunci reflex: absent caudal to the level of L1 Spinal hyperesthesia on palpation of the thoracolumbar junction Based on these findings, which of the following is the most likely location of the spinal cord lesion?

Peripheral nerves of the pelvic limbs

A 2-year-old castrated male pygmy goat fed a grain-based ration is presented for repeated straining with dribbling of blood-tinged urine for 12 hours. He is bright, the bladder is distended on ultrasound, and there is no free abdominal fluid. Gritty material is palpable at the tip of the penis after it is extruded under sedation. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step?

Perform a perineal urethrostomy

The landlord of a client calls the clinic and asks for a copy of the client's cat's medical record, saying the lease requires proof of spay and vaccination. The client has not contacted the clinic about this request, and there is no subpoena or public health order. Which of the following is the most appropriate response?

Release the record only after obtaining the client's consent

Fax the full record because the information is routine

Release the record because the landlord owns the property

Refuse and inform the landlord the cat is not vaccinated

Confirm the vaccination dates verbally but withhold the record

A healthy 4-year-old indoor–outdoor cat that fights with neighborhood cats has a confirmed FIV infection. The owner, who has a young child and one other cat that gets along well with this cat, asks what the diagnosis means. Which of the following is the most appropriate information to give?

Many infected cats live for years; keep the cat indoors to protect other cats

The other cat will almost certainly be infected through shared litter boxes

The virus is easily spread to the child, so the cat should be rehomed right away

Daily antiviral injections are required for the rest of the cat's life

Euthanasia is advised because the disease is rapidly fatal

Endocrine testing Test Result Reference interval Plasma ACTH (resting) 21 pg/mL < 30 pg/mL (non-autumn) Serum insulin, 60–90 min after oral corn syrup 92 µIU/mL < 45 µIU/mL Fasting serum glucose 98 mg/dL 75–115 mg/dL Body condition score 8/9 4–6/9 A 10-year-old Morgan gelding kept on lush pasture has a cresty neck, fat pads at the tail head and a recent episode of laminitis. His hair coat sheds normally each spring. Tests performed in May are shown. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

Hyperadrenocorticism of adrenal origin

The owners of a 50-kg dog with severe, unmanageable aggression have elected euthanasia. The dog cannot be safely restrained for intravenous injection. According to AVMA euthanasia guidelines, which of the following is the most appropriate approach?

Heavy IM sedation, then IV or intracardiac pentobarbital

Intracardiac pentobarbital injection in the conscious dog

IV potassium chloride without prior anesthesia

Intramuscular pentobarbital without sedation

IM succinylcholine as the sole agent

NAVLE – Veterinary Licensing Exam

Free NAVLE Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the NAVLE – Veterinary Licensing Exam, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Food Animals and Other Species, Canine and Feline Medicine, Therapeutics, Anesthesia and Preventive Care, Clinical Data Gathering and Interpretation, Equine Medicine, Public Health, Welfare and Professional Practice.

Question 1 · Food Animals and Other Species
A woman brings in a cockatiel bought from a pet store 3 weeks ago. The bird is fluffed, has conjunctivitis and lime-green urates, and you suspect Chlamydia psittaci infection and submit samples. She mentions that she has had a fever, headache and a dry cough for 4 days. Which of the following is the most appropriate thing to tell her?
- A.Euthanize the bird today to remove the risk to her health
- B.Wait for the bird's test results before seeing a physician
- C.Take doxycycline dispensed from the clinic's pharmacy
- D.See her physician promptly and mention the sick bird
- E.Bird infections do not spread to people, so she can relax
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. See her physician promptly and mention the sick bird
Psittacosis is a zoonosis that causes fever, headache and atypical pneumonia, so the owner should seek medical care now and tell her physician about the bird exposure, which guides the physician's testing and treatment. A veterinarian may not diagnose or prescribe for a human, so dispensing doxycycline to her is outside the scope of practice. Waiting for the bird's results delays her care, and euthanasia is unnecessary because infected birds can be treated with a 45-day course of doxycycline.
Question 2 · Canine and Feline Medicine
- Signalment: 5-year-old male Dachshund, acute onset after jumping off a couch
- Thoracic limbs: normal gait, postural reactions and reflexes
- Pelvic limbs: non-ambulatory paraparesis with absent proprioception
- Patellar and withdrawal reflexes: normal to increased bilaterally
- Cutaneous trunci reflex: absent caudal to the level of L1
- Spinal hyperesthesia on palpation of the thoracolumbar junction
Based on these findings, which of the following is the most likely location of the spinal cord lesion?
- A.C1–C5 spinal cord segments
- B.C6–T2 spinal cord segments
- C.Peripheral nerves of the pelvic limbs
- D.L4–S3 spinal cord segments
- E.T3–L3 spinal cord segments
Show answer and explanation
Answer: E. T3–L3 spinal cord segments
Normal thoracic limbs with upper motor neuron (normal to increased) pelvic limb reflexes localize the lesion to T3–L3, and the cutaneous trunci cutoff near L1 places it near the thoracolumbar junction, the most common site of Hansen type I disk extrusion in chondrodystrophic breeds. An L4–S3 lesion would produce decreased or absent patellar or withdrawal reflexes.

Question 3 · Food Animals and Other Species

Close-up (21 days before calving) records, 600-cow Holstein dairy
Measure	Herd result	Target
Clinical milk fever in cows of 3rd lactation or later	14%	< 5%
Close-up ration calcium	1.1% of dry matter	per ration strategy
Close-up ration potassium	2.6% of dry matter	as low as possible
Urine pH, close-up cows (mean of 10)	8.1	about 6.0–7.0

Which of the following changes to the close-up dry cow program is most likely to reduce the incidence of milk fever in this herd?

A.Add anionic salts to achieve a negative dietary cation–anion difference
B.Give intravenous calcium borogluconate to every cow on the day before calving
C.Raise close-up ration calcium to 1.5% of dry matter
D.Switch the close-up cows to a high-potassium grass hay
E.Give oral propylene glycol to each cow at calving

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. Add anionic salts to achieve a negative dietary cation–anion difference

A high-potassium, high-calcium close-up diet causes metabolic alkalosis (urine pH above 8), which impairs PTH responsiveness and calcium mobilization; feeding anionic salts to a negative DCAD and confirming a urine pH of about 6.0–7.0 is the most effective prevention. Raising prepartum dietary calcium suppresses parathyroid activity and increases milk fever risk. Propylene glycol prevents ketosis, not hypocalcemia, and calving dates are too uncertain for routine prepartum IV calcium.

Question 4 · Food Animals and Other Species
A 2-year-old castrated male pygmy goat fed a grain-based ration is presented for repeated straining with dribbling of blood-tinged urine for 12 hours. He is bright, the bladder is distended on ultrasound, and there is no free abdominal fluid. Gritty material is palpable at the tip of the penis after it is extruded under sedation. Which of the following is the most appropriate next step?
- A.Start oral ammonium chloride
- B.Perform a perineal urethrostomy
- C.Perform a tube cystostomy
- D.Give furosemide intravenously
- E.Amputate the urethral process
Show answer and explanation
Answer: E. Amputate the urethral process
The urethral process is the most common site of calculus obstruction in small ruminants, and amputating it under sedation is quick, inexpensive and restores urine flow in a substantial proportion of cases. Tube cystostomy is the preferred surgery when the process amputation fails or the obstruction is at the sigmoid flexure, but it is not the first step here. Ammonium chloride acidifies urine to prevent struvite stones and does not relieve an existing obstruction, and furosemide in an obstructed animal increases the risk of bladder rupture.
Question 5 · Therapeutics, Anesthesia and Preventive Care
The landlord of a client calls the clinic and asks for a copy of the client's cat's medical record, saying the lease requires proof of spay and vaccination. The client has not contacted the clinic about this request, and there is no subpoena or public health order. Which of the following is the most appropriate response?
- A.Fax the full record because the information is routine
- B.Release the record because the landlord owns the property
- C.Refuse and inform the landlord the cat is not vaccinated
- D.Release the record only after obtaining the client's consent
- E.Confirm the vaccination dates verbally but withhold the record
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Release the record only after obtaining the client's consent
Veterinary medical records and information about a client's animal are confidential and may be released to third parties only with the client's consent or when required by law, such as a subpoena or public health and rabies-control requirements. Confirming vaccination dates verbally is still a disclosure of confidential information without consent.
Question 6 · Therapeutics, Anesthesia and Preventive Care
A healthy 4-year-old indoor–outdoor cat that fights with neighborhood cats has a confirmed FIV infection. The owner, who has a young child and one other cat that gets along well with this cat, asks what the diagnosis means. Which of the following is the most appropriate information to give?
- A.The other cat will almost certainly be infected through shared litter boxes
- B.The virus is easily spread to the child, so the cat should be rehomed right away
- C.Many infected cats live for years; keep the cat indoors to protect other cats
- D.Daily antiviral injections are required for the rest of the cat's life
- E.Euthanasia is advised because the disease is rapidly fatal
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Many infected cats live for years; keep the cat indoors to protect other cats
FIV is not zoonotic and is transmitted mainly through deep bite wounds, so housemates that do not fight have a low risk; many infected cats live normal life spans with good preventive care, prompt treatment of secondary illness and indoor housing, which also prevents spread to other cats. Telling the owner the disease is rapidly fatal or dangerous to the child is inaccurate and could lead to unnecessary euthanasia.

Question 7 · Therapeutics, Anesthesia and Preventive Care

Endocrine testing
Test	Result	Reference interval
Plasma ACTH (resting)	21 pg/mL	< 30 pg/mL (non-autumn)
Serum insulin, 60–90 min after oral corn syrup	92 µIU/mL	< 45 µIU/mL
Fasting serum glucose	98 mg/dL	75–115 mg/dL
Body condition score	8/9	4–6/9

A 10-year-old Morgan gelding kept on lush pasture has a cresty neck, fat pads at the tail head and a recent episode of laminitis. His hair coat sheds normally each spring. Tests performed in May are shown. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A.Equine metabolic syndrome
B.Hypothyroidism
C.Type 2 diabetes mellitus
D.Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction
E.Hyperadrenocorticism of adrenal origin

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. Equine metabolic syndrome

Regional adiposity, laminitis and an exaggerated insulin response to the oral sugar test with a normal resting ACTH in a middle-aged horse indicate equine metabolic syndrome with insulin dysregulation. Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction can cause similar laminitis but typically occurs in older horses with hypertrichosis and muscle wasting and would raise ACTH, and the normal fasting glucose argues against diabetes mellitus.

Question 8 · Food Animals and Other Species
A 1-year-old guinea pig fed rabbit pellets and timothy hay with no fresh vegetables is presented for reluctance to move and a squeaking response when handled. Examination shows swollen, painful stifles and costochondral junctions, gingival petechiae, a rough hair coat, mild diarrhea and weight loss. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
- A.Pododermatitis
- B.Metastatic calcification
- C.Hypovitaminosis C
- D.Cervical lymphadenitis
- E.Dental malocclusion
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Hypovitaminosis C
Guinea pigs lack L-gulonolactone oxidase and must obtain vitamin C in the diet; rabbit pellets do not contain enough, and deficiency causes defective collagen with joint and costochondral swelling, gingival hemorrhage, pain on handling and poor coat. Dental malocclusion is tempting because it also causes weight loss and can follow scurvy, but it does not explain swollen joints or petechiae. Pododermatitis affects the plantar feet, and cervical lymphadenitis causes neck abscesses from Streptococcus zooepidemicus.
Question 9 · Therapeutics, Anesthesia and Preventive Care
The owners of a 50-kg dog with severe, unmanageable aggression have elected euthanasia. The dog cannot be safely restrained for intravenous injection. According to AVMA euthanasia guidelines, which of the following is the most appropriate approach?
- A.Intracardiac pentobarbital injection in the conscious dog
- B.IV potassium chloride without prior anesthesia
- C.Heavy IM sedation, then IV or intracardiac pentobarbital
- D.Intramuscular pentobarbital without sedation
- E.IM succinylcholine as the sole agent
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Heavy IM sedation, then IV or intracardiac pentobarbital
AVMA guidelines allow intracardiac injection only in an unconscious or anesthetized animal, so a fractious dog should first receive heavy intramuscular sedation or anesthesia, after which pentobarbital is given IV or, if veins cannot be accessed, intracardiac. Potassium chloride and neuromuscular blockers are unacceptable in conscious animals because they cause death without first producing unconsciousness.

Question 10 · Clinical Data Gathering and Interpretation

Laboratory results
Test	Result	Reference interval
PCV	14%	27–45%
Plasma color	Red-tinged	Clear
Total bilirubin	6.8 mg/dL	0.1–0.5 mg/dL
AST	1,240 U/L	60–280 U/L
GGT	165 U/L	20–52 U/L
Urine	Dark red-brown; heme strongly positive	Pale yellow; negative

A 3-year-old Texel ewe from a small flock that has been fed a pelleted dairy cattle ration and a cattle mineral mix for 6 months is presented 2 days after being trucked to a show. She is weak, anorexic and markedly icteric, and a flockmate died suddenly yesterday. Fecal egg count is low. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

A.Chronic copper toxicosis
B.Anaplasmosis
C.Bacillary hemoglobinuria
D.Leptospirosis
E.Haemonchosis

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. Chronic copper toxicosis

Sheep accumulate copper in the liver when fed cattle feeds or minerals, and a stressor such as transport triggers sudden release of hepatic copper and an acute intravascular hemolytic crisis with icterus, hemoglobinemia, hemoglobinuria and elevated liver enzymes. Haemonchosis causes severe anemia but with a high egg count and without hemoglobinuria or icterus. Leptospirosis and bacillary hemoglobinuria can also cause hemolysis, but neither explains the copper-rich diet and transport trigger, and bacillary hemoglobinuria usually causes fever and rapid death.

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