DVM Trivia 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the most common cause of infectious tracheobronchitis ('kennel cough') in dogs?
- Canine distemper virus
- Bordetella bronchiseptica (Correct answer)
- Streptococcus canis
- Parainfluenza virus alone
Correct answer: Bordetella bronchiseptica
While kennel cough is often polymicrobial, Bordetella bronchiseptica is the primary bacterial pathogen and the basis for most kennel cough vaccines.
Question 2: Which condition in neonatal foals is characterized by failure to absorb colostral immunoglobulins and is diagnosed by measuring serum IgG?
- Neonatal isoerythrolysis
- Failure of passive transfer (Correct answer)
- Rhodococcus equi pneumonia
- Septic arthritis
Correct answer: Failure of passive transfer
Failure of passive transfer (FPT) occurs when foals do not absorb sufficient IgG from colostrum within 24 hours of birth, leaving them immunocompromised.
Question 3: A cat presents with anisocoria, Horner's syndrome, and ipsilateral forelimb lameness after a car accident. What structure is most likely damaged?
- Brachial plexus (Correct answer)
- Cervical spinal cord
- Thoracolumbar spinal cord
- Facial nerve
Correct answer: Brachial plexus
Avulsion of the brachial plexus disrupts sympathetic fibers traveling through the nerve roots (T1-T3), causing ipsilateral Horner's syndrome and forelimb paresis.
Question 4: What is the primary mode of transmission of rabies virus from an infected animal to a new host?
- Aerosol inhalation
- Bite wound inoculation of saliva (Correct answer)
- Fecal-oral route
- Arthropod vector bite
Correct answer: Bite wound inoculation of saliva
Rabies virus is transmitted almost exclusively through the bite of an infected animal, introducing virus-laden saliva into wound tissue where it infects peripheral nerve endings.
Question 5: Which electrolyte imbalance is classically associated with 'downer cow syndrome' after parturition?
- Hyperkalemia
- Hypocalcemia (Correct answer)
- Hypernatremia
- Hyperphosphatemia
Correct answer: Hypocalcemia
Parturient paresis (milk fever) results from acute hypocalcemia as calcium demand for colostrum and milk production exceeds mobilization capacity.
Question 6: In avian medicine, what is the term for the surgical removal of the crop?
- Ingluviotomy
- Ingluviectomy (Correct answer)
- Proventriculotomy
- Cloacopexy
Correct answer: Ingluviectomy
Ingluviectomy is the complete excision of the crop; an ingluviotomy is a surgical incision into the crop (without removal), often for foreign body retrieval.
Question 7: Which fish disease caused by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis appears as white spots on the skin and gills?
- Columnaris disease
- White spot disease (Ich) (Correct answer)
- Saprolegniasis
- Furunculosis
Correct answer: White spot disease (Ich)
Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a ciliated protozoan parasite that causes 'Ich' or white spot disease, one of the most common diseases in freshwater fish.
DVM Trivia 4
What is the most common cause of infectious tracheobronchitis ('kennel cough') in dogs?