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The DACVS exam has 125 questions and runs 7 hours.
These 10 free DACVS questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons - Phase I (DACVS) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Light directed into a cat's right eye produces no constriction of either pupil. Light directed into its left eye constricts both pupils. Which cranial nerve lesion best accounts for this pattern?
Correct answer: D - Right optic nerve
During equine abdominal exploration, the cecocolic fold is used to identify the right ventral colon. Following the intestinal lumen aborally from that segment, which two flexures are encountered before entering the left dorsal colon?
Correct answer: A - Sternal, then pelvic
After hemodilution in a dog, hemoglobin falls from 12 to 8 g/dL while cardiac output rises from 2.5 to 3.0 L/min. Arterial oxygen saturation remains 100% and PaO2 remains 100 mmHg. Use CaO2 = (1.34 × hemoglobin × saturation as a fraction) + (0.003 × PaO2), in mL O2/dL, and oxygen delivery = cardiac output × CaO2 × 10, in mL O2/min. What has happened to systemic oxygen delivery?
Correct answer: B - It fell to about 331 mL O2/min; increased flow only partly compensated.
Staphylococci recovered from an equine implant are susceptible during testing of free-living cells. A bactericidal antimicrobial kills matched free-living cultures, but bacteria attached in a biofilm survive at the same concentration and exposure duration. Which additional result most strongly favors biofilm-associated tolerance over stable acquired resistance?
Correct answer: A - Dispersed survivors regrow with the original susceptible minimum inhibitory concentration
A hypovolemic dog has a serum potassium concentration of 6.0 mEq/L and requires intravascular volume replacement. There is no evidence of fluid overload. A buffered isotonic crystalloid contains 4 mEq/L potassium, with no added potassium chloride. Which assessment of the available fluids is correct?
Correct answer: D - Use the buffered crystalloid, reassessing perfusion and electrolytes as treatment proceeds.
Gentamicin is being evaluated against an obligate anaerobe isolated from an equine surgical specimen. Which mechanism best explains why a higher gentamicin peak concentration may still fail to provide reliable antibacterial activity?
Correct answer: B - Oxygen is needed for efficient transport of the drug into bacteria.
An awake cat is observed undisturbed after surgery. Its ears are flattened and rotated outward, its eyes are markedly squinted, its muzzle is mildly tense, its whiskers remain loose and curved, and its head is level with its shoulders. Heart rate and respiratory rate are unchanged from the cat's comfortable preoperative baseline. Using the Feline Grimace Scale, which score and interpretation are correct?
Correct answer: C - 6/10; reassess analgesia and consider additional pain relief.
Immediately after a manually delivered breath in an anesthetized horse, the circle-system reservoir bag remains tense and airway pressure stays elevated. The adjustable pressure-limiting valve is still closed, and arterial pressure is falling. Which action takes priority?
Correct answer: C - Open the adjustable pressure-limiting valve and confirm that airway pressure falls.
A fully threaded cortical screw is intended to compress two fracture fragments in a dog. The same pilot-hole diameter has been used in both fragments, so the threads engage both. Tightening fails to produce lag compression. Which change would permit the intended mechanical action?
Correct answer: A - Create a gliding hole through the near fragment.
A focal thermal lesion is found on intra-abdominal tissue where it contacted a metal cannula during laparoscopic monopolar electrosurgery. The distant skin beneath the patient return electrode is uninjured. Testing confirms intact insulation on the active electrode, which never directly contacted the cannula. What mechanism explains energy transfer to the injured site?
Correct answer: D - Capacitive coupling through the intact insulation
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