NORTH AMERICAN VETERINARY LICENSING EXAMINATION
(NAVLE) | 2026/2027 LATEST UPDATED VERSION | QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED ANSWERS | GRADED A+
A two-year-old Angus cow is presented with weakness of the hind limbs and a staggering gait. On
physical exam, the heart rate and respiratory rate are slow and irregular, and the pupils are dilated.
The cow's breath and urine smell like the odor of mouse urine. Suddenly the cow's pulse becomes
rapid and thready, she collapses, and dies of apparent respiratory failure. Which one of the following
plants is most likely to have caused this spectrum of clinical signs?
A - Pinus ponderosa (Western yellow pine)
B - Veratrum spp (False hellebore, Skunk cabbage)
C - Centaurea spp (Knapweed, Yellow star thistle)
D - Conium maculatum (Poison hemlock)
E - Tetradymia spp (Horsebrush) -
ANSWER
D - Conium maculatum (Poison hemlock)
You are presented a healthy ten-year-old maiden mare for breeding evaluation in January in North
America. On rectal palpation, both ovaries have multiple, small (less than 15 mm) follicles and no
corpus lutea. The uterus is flaccid with no edema. Which one of the following choices is the most
likely explanation of the findings in this mare?
A - Seasonal anestrus
B - The mare is in diestrus
C - Estrus has just passed
D - Early pregnancy
E - The mare is too old and now is infertile -
ANSWER
A - Seasonal anestrus
A five-month-old Yorkshire terrier is presented with ataxia in all four limbs and neck pain. There is
loss of conscious proprioception in all four limbs. A radiograph of the cervical spine is shown below.
Which one of the following choices is the most likely diagnosis?
,A - Atlantoaxial instability
B - Caudal occipital malformation
C - Intervertebral disk disease
D - Discospondylitis
E - Spina bifida -
ANSWER
A - Atlantoaxial instability
An 11-year-old male, neutered Cavalier King Charles spaniel is presented for an episode of acute
collapse with inability to support himself on the hind limbs and disorientation. Based on the
radiographs and history, which one of the following tests would be next indicated?
A - Magnetic resonance imaging
B - Edrophonium challenge test
C - Myelography
D - Bronchoscopy
E - Echocardiography -
ANSWER
E - Echocardiography
An eight-year-old dog is found recumbent and non-responsive in a horse pasture. His left pupil is
small, the right one is moderately dilated but responds to light. The right upper eyelid and lip are
droopy, hanging lower than normal. Head trauma is suspected. The mucous membranes are pale
pink, capillary refill time is 1-2 seconds.
T= 98.7°F, (37.0°C) [N 100-102.5°F, 37.8-39.2°C]
HR=56 [N 90-160 beats/min]
The respiratory rate and pattern are quite variable. He breathes fast and deep for 5-6 breaths, then
more slowly and shallowly, then is apneic for 10 seconds. The pattern repeats over and over. What is
this respiratory pattern?
A - Orthopnea
B - Cheyne-Stokes breathing
C - Apneustic respiration pattern
, D - Agonal respiration
E - Kussmaul pattern -
ANSWER
B - Cheyne-Stokes breathing
A seven-year-old cat is presented with miosis, ptosis, enophthalmos, and protruded nictitating
membrane involving the left eye. These signs are caused by DAMAGE to which one of the following
innervation pathways?
A - Right trigeminal innervation to the eye
B - Right parasympathetic innervation to the eye
C - Left oculomotor innervation to the eye
D - Left sympathetic innervation to the eye
E - Right vagal innervation to the eye -
ANSWER
D - Left sympathetic innervation to the eye
A flock of sheep has been grazing on Sorghum halepense (Johnson grass), Tetradymia spp.
(horsebrush) and Artemisia nova (black sage). Many of the exposed animals have edema, especially
in their heads. This lamb has edema around the eyes and the ears show hyperkeratinized tissue.
What is the photosensitizing agent responsible for this condition?
A - Tetradymia spp.
B - Chlorophyll
C - Phylloerythrin
D - Artemisia nova
E - Bile acids -
ANSWER
C - Phylloerythrin
A young adult dairy cow is presented for evaluation in Minnesota in February. She has multifocal,
nonpruritic, circular, alopecic, and gray-white crusty lesions, mainly affecting the head and neck.
Several other herdmates are similarly affected, with lesions also on the chest and limbs. What is the
most common way to address this condition?
(NAVLE) | 2026/2027 LATEST UPDATED VERSION | QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED ANSWERS | GRADED A+
A two-year-old Angus cow is presented with weakness of the hind limbs and a staggering gait. On
physical exam, the heart rate and respiratory rate are slow and irregular, and the pupils are dilated.
The cow's breath and urine smell like the odor of mouse urine. Suddenly the cow's pulse becomes
rapid and thready, she collapses, and dies of apparent respiratory failure. Which one of the following
plants is most likely to have caused this spectrum of clinical signs?
A - Pinus ponderosa (Western yellow pine)
B - Veratrum spp (False hellebore, Skunk cabbage)
C - Centaurea spp (Knapweed, Yellow star thistle)
D - Conium maculatum (Poison hemlock)
E - Tetradymia spp (Horsebrush) -
ANSWER
D - Conium maculatum (Poison hemlock)
You are presented a healthy ten-year-old maiden mare for breeding evaluation in January in North
America. On rectal palpation, both ovaries have multiple, small (less than 15 mm) follicles and no
corpus lutea. The uterus is flaccid with no edema. Which one of the following choices is the most
likely explanation of the findings in this mare?
A - Seasonal anestrus
B - The mare is in diestrus
C - Estrus has just passed
D - Early pregnancy
E - The mare is too old and now is infertile -
ANSWER
A - Seasonal anestrus
A five-month-old Yorkshire terrier is presented with ataxia in all four limbs and neck pain. There is
loss of conscious proprioception in all four limbs. A radiograph of the cervical spine is shown below.
Which one of the following choices is the most likely diagnosis?
,A - Atlantoaxial instability
B - Caudal occipital malformation
C - Intervertebral disk disease
D - Discospondylitis
E - Spina bifida -
ANSWER
A - Atlantoaxial instability
An 11-year-old male, neutered Cavalier King Charles spaniel is presented for an episode of acute
collapse with inability to support himself on the hind limbs and disorientation. Based on the
radiographs and history, which one of the following tests would be next indicated?
A - Magnetic resonance imaging
B - Edrophonium challenge test
C - Myelography
D - Bronchoscopy
E - Echocardiography -
ANSWER
E - Echocardiography
An eight-year-old dog is found recumbent and non-responsive in a horse pasture. His left pupil is
small, the right one is moderately dilated but responds to light. The right upper eyelid and lip are
droopy, hanging lower than normal. Head trauma is suspected. The mucous membranes are pale
pink, capillary refill time is 1-2 seconds.
T= 98.7°F, (37.0°C) [N 100-102.5°F, 37.8-39.2°C]
HR=56 [N 90-160 beats/min]
The respiratory rate and pattern are quite variable. He breathes fast and deep for 5-6 breaths, then
more slowly and shallowly, then is apneic for 10 seconds. The pattern repeats over and over. What is
this respiratory pattern?
A - Orthopnea
B - Cheyne-Stokes breathing
C - Apneustic respiration pattern
, D - Agonal respiration
E - Kussmaul pattern -
ANSWER
B - Cheyne-Stokes breathing
A seven-year-old cat is presented with miosis, ptosis, enophthalmos, and protruded nictitating
membrane involving the left eye. These signs are caused by DAMAGE to which one of the following
innervation pathways?
A - Right trigeminal innervation to the eye
B - Right parasympathetic innervation to the eye
C - Left oculomotor innervation to the eye
D - Left sympathetic innervation to the eye
E - Right vagal innervation to the eye -
ANSWER
D - Left sympathetic innervation to the eye
A flock of sheep has been grazing on Sorghum halepense (Johnson grass), Tetradymia spp.
(horsebrush) and Artemisia nova (black sage). Many of the exposed animals have edema, especially
in their heads. This lamb has edema around the eyes and the ears show hyperkeratinized tissue.
What is the photosensitizing agent responsible for this condition?
A - Tetradymia spp.
B - Chlorophyll
C - Phylloerythrin
D - Artemisia nova
E - Bile acids -
ANSWER
C - Phylloerythrin
A young adult dairy cow is presented for evaluation in Minnesota in February. She has multifocal,
nonpruritic, circular, alopecic, and gray-white crusty lesions, mainly affecting the head and neck.
Several other herdmates are similarly affected, with lesions also on the chest and limbs. What is the
most common way to address this condition?
