Free Veterinary Parasitology MCQs with Answers
58 Veterinary Parasitology MCQs from Veterinary Science, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Covers protozoa, helminths and arthropods that infect domestic animals, including their morphology, life cycles, hosts, transmission and clinical effects. Questions connect parasite identification with diagnosis, prevention and treatment, and distinguish endoparasites from ectoparasites and definitive hosts from intermediate hosts.
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- A. Intermediate host
- B. Definitive host
- C. Paratenic host
- D. Accidental host
Explanation: Cattle are the intermediate hosts because the larval cysticercus stage develops in their muscles.
Correct answer: Intermediate host- A. Miracidium
- B. Metacercaria
- C. Cercaria
- D. Sporocyst
Explanation: The metacercaria is the encysted infective stage attached to aquatic vegetation.
Correct answer: Metacercaria- A. Large intestine
- B. Small intestine
- C. Abomasum
- D. Bile duct
Explanation: Haemonchus contortus is a blood-feeding nematode of the abomasum. Its heavy infections can cause severe anaemia, weakness and…
Correct answer: Abomasum4. Eimeria tenella most characteristically causes coccidiosis in which part of the chicken intestine?
- A. Duodenum
- B. Jejunum
- C. Ileum
- D. Caeca
Explanation: Eimeria tenella develops mainly in the caeca and can produce severe caecal haemorrhage.
Correct answer: Caeca- A. Biological transmission
- B. Mechanical transmission
- C. Contact transmission
- D. Faecal oral transmission
Explanation: Babesia undergoes development and multiplication inside the tick, so its transmission is biological.
Correct answer: Biological transmission- A. Hair follicles
- B. Stratum corneum
- C. Sebaceous glands
- D. Subcutaneous tissue
Explanation: Sarcoptes scabiei burrows within the stratum corneum and causes intense itching and crust formation.
Correct answer: Stratum corneum- A. L1 rhabditoid larva
- B. Adult male
- C. L3 filariform larva
- D. Unembryonated egg
Explanation: The L3 filariform larva is the infective stage of Strongyloides and may penetrate the skin or be ingested.
Correct answer: L3 filariform larva- A. Lungs and bronchioles
- B. Stomach and abomasum
- C. Bile ducts and gall bladder
- D. Caecum and colon
Explanation: Adult Trichuris vulpis attaches to the mucosa of the caecum and colon. Its characteristic bipolar-plugged eggs are passed in faeces and…
Correct answer: Caecum and colon- A. Across the tegument
- B. Through specialised nephridia
- C. By phagocytosis at the scolex
- D. Through an alimentary canal
Explanation: Cestodes lack a digestive tract and absorb nutrients across their metabolically active tegument.
Correct answer: Across the tegument- A. Acetylcholinesterase
- B. Glutamate-gated chloride channels
- C. Folate synthesis
- D. Fungal ergosterol synthesis
Explanation: Ivermectin increases chloride ion conductance through glutamate-gated chloride channels in parasite nerve and muscle cells, causing…
Correct answer: Glutamate-gated chloride channels- A. It supports multiplication of only larval stages
- B. It carries the parasite only during embryonation
- C. It harbours the parasite's adult or sexual stage
- D. It transmits the parasite without harbouring it
Explanation: A definitive host contains the adult stage or the stage in which sexual reproduction occurs.
Correct answer: It harbours the parasite's adult or sexual stage- A. A blood-feeding hard tick
- B. A freshwater aquatic snail
- C. A terrestrial dung beetle
- D. A free-living oribatid mite
Explanation: Moniezia expansa requires an oribatid mite, in which its larval cysticercoid develops.
Correct answer: A free-living oribatid mite- A. A fully sporulated oocyst
- B. A newly shed unsporulated oocyst
- C. A ruptured oocyst wall
- D. A free merozoite in water
Explanation: Sporulation produces the infective sporozoites within the Eimeria oocyst.
Correct answer: A fully sporulated oocyst- A. Baermann larval recovery
- B. Faecal sedimentation
- C. Perianal tape examination
- D. Direct blood smear
Explanation: Fasciola eggs are relatively heavy, so sedimentation is more reliable than routine flotation.
Correct answer: Faecal sedimentation- A. Small intestinal lumen
- B. Bile ducts and gall bladder
- C. Bronchi and bronchioles
- D. Urinary bladder
Explanation: Adult Dictyocaulus viviparus occupy the bronchi and bronchioles of cattle, where they interfere with airflow and cause respiratory…
Correct answer: Bronchi and bronchioles16. Which arthropod commonly serves as the intermediate host of Dipylidium caninum in dogs and cats?
- A. The biting midge
- B. The louse fly
- C. The hard tick
- D. The flea
Explanation: Flea larvae ingest Dipylidium eggs, and the cysticercoid develops inside the flea.
Correct answer: The flea- A. A direct life cycle without an intermediate host
- B. An indirect life cycle requiring a snail
- C. A vector-borne cycle requiring a tick
- D. A cycle requiring a fish intermediate host
Explanation: Ascaris suum has a direct life cycle, although its eggs must embryonate in the environment before becoming infective.
Correct answer: A direct life cycle without an intermediate host- A. To concentrate heavy trematode eggs
- B. To recover active nematode larvae
- C. To identify protozoal oocysts by staining
- D. To detect antibodies against adult worms
Explanation: The Baermann technique uses larval movement through water to recover living nematode larvae from faecal material.
Correct answer: To recover active nematode larvae- A. Salicylanilides
- B. Macrocyclic lactones
- C. Benzimidazoles
- D. Imidazothiazoles
Explanation: Benzimidazoles bind parasite beta-tubulin and interfere with microtubule assembly, reducing nutrient uptake and energy production.
Correct answer: Benzimidazoles- A. Filarial nematodes
- B. Cestode helminths
- C. Acarine ectoparasites
- D. Apicomplexan protozoa
Explanation: Cystoisospora species are intracellular apicomplexan protozoa that multiply in intestinal epithelial cells.
Correct answer: Apicomplexan protozoaVeterinary Parasitology MCQs: common questions
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