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Canine Medicine and Surgery Flashcards

7 cards from real NAVLE 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 Medicine and Surgery flashcards as text

  1. A 7-year-old male intact Golden Retriever presents with a firm, painless swelling at the base of the tail. Cytology reveals sheets of round cells with prominent nucleoli and vacuolated cytoplasm. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Anal sac adenocarcinoma

    Anal sac adenocarcinoma presents as a firm mass in the anal sac region and cytology shows epithelial cells with malignant features; it is not hormone-dependent unlike perianal adenomas.

  2. A dog is presented with acute onset of non-ambulatory tetraparesis following a traumatic event. Spinal radiographs reveal atlantoaxial subluxation. What is the definitive treatment of choice?

    Answer: Surgical stabilization of the atlantoaxial joint

    Surgical stabilization via ventral fixation or dorsal wiring provides definitive correction of atlantoaxial subluxation, which otherwise risks life-threatening spinal cord compression.

  3. Which electrolyte abnormality is most commonly associated with hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's disease) in dogs?

    Answer: Hyponatremia and hyperkalemia

    Lack of mineralocorticoids in Addison's disease leads to sodium wasting and potassium retention, producing hyponatremia and hyperkalemia with a Na:K ratio below 27.

  4. A 4-year-old Labrador Retriever undergoes a routine CBC and is found to have a hematocrit of 20%, reticulocytosis, and spherocytes on blood smear. The Coombs test is positive. What is the most appropriate initial treatment?

    Answer: Immunosuppressive doses of prednisone

    Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia is treated primarily with immunosuppressive corticosteroids such as prednisone to halt antibody-mediated red cell destruction.

  5. A 9-year-old spayed female Boxer is presented with episodic weakness, syncope, and a heart rate of 40 bpm. ECG reveals a P wave with no associated QRS complex occurring at irregular intervals. What is the diagnosis?

    Answer: Third-degree (complete) AV block

    Third-degree AV block is characterized by complete dissociation of P waves and QRS complexes with a slow escape rhythm, causing bradycardia and syncope.

  6. A German Shepherd presents with chronic intermittent diarrhea, weight loss, and a serum cobalamin level of 85 ng/L (reference: 251-908). Serum folate is markedly elevated. What is the most likely diagnosis?

    Answer: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth

    Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth causes bacteria to consume cobalamin (lowering serum levels) while producing excess folate, resulting in low cobalamin and high folate.

  7. During abdominal exploratory surgery in a dog, you discover a mesenteric mass with multiple satellite nodules on the intestinal serosa. Histopathology returns as gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Which treatment has shown the most promise?

    Answer: Surgical resection combined with toceranib phosphate (Palladia)

    GISTs overexpress c-KIT receptor tyrosine kinase, making them responsive to toceranib (a KIT inhibitor), and surgical debulking combined with toceranib improves outcomes.