DO Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the DO exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 DO Exam Format at a Glance
📚 DO Topics to Study (33)
✍️ Sample DO Questions & Answers
1. Muscle Energy Technique (MET) requires the patient to actively contract specific muscles against a physician-applied counterforce.
MET is a direct, active technique in which the patient voluntarily contracts specific muscles on request against a precisely controlled counterforce applied by the physician.
2. A.T. Still's famous statement that 'the role of the artery is supreme' emphasized the importance of which body system?
Still believed that unobstructed arterial blood flow was essential to health and that restoring circulation was central to healing.
3. Which heritability estimate for IQ in adults, derived from twin studies, is most consistent with the current scientific literature?
Twin and adoption studies consistently estimate IQ heritability in adults at approximately 60–80%, with environmental factors accounting for the remainder.
4. A patient on carbamazepine for epilepsy presents with hyponatremia. What is the most likely mechanism?
Carbamazepine stimulates ADH release and potentiates its action on V2 receptors in renal collecting ducts, causing SIADH and hyponatremia.
5. Approximately how many DOs are currently practicing in the United States?
Approximately 180,000 DOs practice in the United States, representing about 25% of the total US physician workforce.
6. Which beta-blocker is most cardioselective and preferred when a beta-blocker is necessary in a patient with mild COPD?
Metoprolol selectively blocks beta-1 receptors with minimal beta-2 activity, reducing the risk of bronchospasm compared to non-selective agents.