FREE VTNE Laboratory Procedures Questions and Answers

Question 1

A veterinary technician is performing a urinalysis and observes colorless, rectangular, prism-like crystals that resemble "coffin lids." These crystals are most likely:

Accepted Answer

Struvite

Answer

Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) crystals are commonly described as resembling 'coffin lids' due to their colorless, three-dimensional, prism-like shape. While they can be found in normal dogs and cats, their formation is favored in neutral to alkaline urine and can be associated with urinary tract infections.

Question 2

A technician prepares a blood smear from a feline EDTA sample that was collected 4 hours prior and kept at room temperature. Upon microscopic examination, the red blood cells appear spiculated with short, evenly spaced projections. This finding is most likely:

Accepted Answer

Crenation, an artifact from sample aging

Answer

Crenation is a common artifact seen in blood smears, especially from aged samples (left at room temperature for over 2 hours) or due to excess EDTA. It causes red blood cells to develop short, uniform, spiky projections. This is distinct from acanthocytosis, which has irregularly spaced projections and is associated with certain disease states.

Question 3

The Baermann technique is a specialized fecal diagnostic test used to recover which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Nematode larvae like Aelurostrongylus

Answer

The Baermann technique is specifically designed to recover live nematode larvae from a fresh fecal sample. It relies on the active migration of larvae out of the feces and into surrounding water. It is the preferred method for detecting lungworm larvae (e.g., Aelurostrongylus abstrusus) and other parasites that pass larvae instead of eggs in the stool.

Question 4

When using a standard refractometer in a veterinary clinic, which two measurements are most commonly performed?

Accepted Answer

Urine specific gravity and total protein

Answer

A clinical refractometer is a standard piece of equipment used to measure the refractive index of a fluid. In veterinary practice, its primary uses are to determine the urine specific gravity (USG), which assesses the concentrating ability of the kidneys, and the total protein (TP) or total solids in plasma or serum.

Question 5

A technician needs to perform a Gram stain on a bacterial smear. What is the correct sequence of reagents used in this differential staining procedure?

Accepted Answer

Crystal Violet, Iodine, Decolorizer, Safranin

Answer

The correct order for a Gram stain is: 1) Crystal Violet (primary stain), 2) Gram's Iodine (mordant to fix the stain), 3) a Decolorizer (like alcohol/acetone) to remove the stain from Gram-negative cells, and 4) Safranin (counterstain) to color the decolorized Gram-negative cells red or pink.

VTNE - Veterinary Technician National Examination Practice Test

VTNE - Veterinary Technician National Examination Practice Test

FREE VTNE Laboratory Procedures Questions and Answers