Practice Test Geeks(ICVA) International Council for Veterinary Assessment Practice Test
← All ICVA Flashcard Decks

Canine Internal Medicine Flashcards

7 cards from real ICVA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Canine Internal Medicine flashcards as text

  1. A 9-year-old intact male dog presents with preputial discharge, lethargy, and PU/PD. Prostatic wash cytology shows septic suppurative inflammation. What is the most appropriate initial treatment?

    Answer: Broad-spectrum antibiotics and castration

    Bacterial prostatitis requires antibiotics that penetrate the blood-prostate barrier (e.g., fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfa), and castration reduces recurrence.

  2. Which finding on thoracic radiographs is most consistent with left-sided congestive heart failure in a dog?

    Answer: Pulmonary venous distension and perihilar interstitial pattern

    Left-sided CHF causes pulmonary venous congestion, leading to interstitial and alveolar patterns beginning perihilarly.

  3. A dog is diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Which serum test is considered the gold standard for confirming the diagnosis?

    Answer: Free T4 by equilibrium dialysis (fT4ED)

    Free T4 measured by equilibrium dialysis is the most specific and sensitive single test for canine hypothyroidism.

  4. A 4-year-old Boxer presents with episodic weakness and syncope. A Holter monitor reveals paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia. Which drug is first-line therapy for this arrhythmia in dogs?

    Answer: Sotalol

    Sotalol is the preferred antiarrhythmic for ventricular arrhythmias in Boxers, with both class II and class III activity.

  5. Which parameter is most useful for differentiating prerenal azotemia from intrinsic renal failure in a dog?

    Answer: Response to IV fluid challenge and urine specific gravity

    Prerenal azotemia resolves with fluid therapy and is associated with concentrated urine (USG >1.030), whereas renal failure shows isosthenuria and persistent azotemia.

  6. A dog with small intestinal disease has a serum cobalamin (B12) of 98 ng/L (reference 251–908). Which intestinal segment is responsible for cobalamin absorption?

    Answer: Ileum

    Cobalamin is absorbed exclusively in the ileum via cubilin receptors; ileal disease or resection causes cobalamin deficiency.

  7. Which condition is characterized by episodic hemolytic anemia triggered by oxidative stress in dogs and is associated with a G6PD-like enzyme deficiency in certain breeds?

    Answer: Phosphofructokinase deficiency

    Phosphofructokinase deficiency in English Springer Spaniels and American Cocker Spaniels causes compensated hemolytic anemia that crises with alkalosis from panting or excitement.