Free Veterinary Pathology MCQs with Answers

60 Veterinary Pathology 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 the causes and mechanisms of disease, cellular injury, inflammation, healing, circulatory disturbances, neoplasia and disorders of major organs. It also includes gross and microscopic pathological changes, specimen interpretation and the distinction between aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs and lesions.

Last updated

60 questions · page 1 of 3

  • A. Liquefactive necrosis
  • B. Coagulative necrosis
  • C. Caseous necrosis
  • D. Fat necrosis

Explanation: Brain tissue commonly undergoes liquefactive necrosis because enzymatic digestion transforms the dead tissue into a soft, fluid mass.

Correct answer: Liquefactive necrosis
  • A. Neutrophil
  • B. Epithelioid macrophage
  • C. Plasma cell
  • D. Mast cell

Explanation: Mature granulomas are mainly formed by activated macrophages that develop an epithelioid appearance, often with surrounding lymphocytes.

Correct answer: Epithelioid macrophage
  • A. Cell swelling with membrane rupture
  • B. Marked neutrophil accumulation
  • C. Cell shrinkage with formation of apoptotic bodies
  • D. Extensive inflammation around dead cells

Explanation: Apoptosis involves programmed cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation and formation of membrane-bound apoptotic bodies, usually without…

Correct answer: Cell shrinkage with formation of apoptotic bodies
  • A. Reduced venous drainage
  • B. Reduced cardiac output
  • C. Obstruction of lymphatic flow
  • D. Increased arterial blood flow

Explanation: Active hyperemia is caused by arteriolar dilation and increased blood inflow, such as during exercise or inflammation.

Correct answer: Increased arterial blood flow
  • A. Apple-green birefringence after Congo red staining
  • B. Magenta material with periodic acid Schiff stain only
  • C. Black granules after Prussian blue staining
  • D. Metachromatic material after Gram staining

Explanation: Amyloid deposits bind Congo red and show apple-green birefringence under polarized light, which is a characteristic diagnostic finding.

Correct answer: Apple-green birefringence after Congo red staining
  • A. Presence of a fibrous capsule
  • B. Ability to invade surrounding tissues
  • C. Uniformity of the tumour cells
  • D. Slow, localized growth

Explanation: Malignant neoplasms characteristically invade adjacent tissues and may metastasize to distant sites.

Correct answer: Ability to invade surrounding tissues
  • A. Fever, pain and swelling
  • B. Anaemia, hypoxia and acidosis
  • C. Stasis, endothelial injury and hypercoagulability
  • D. Vasodilation, oedema and haemorrhage

Explanation: Thrombosis is promoted by abnormal blood flow or stasis, endothelial injury and a hypercoagulable state.

Correct answer: Stasis, endothelial injury and hypercoagulability
  • A. Calcium phosphate
  • B. Glycogen granules
  • C. Bilirubin crystals
  • D. Triglycerides

Explanation: Fatty change, or hepatic steatosis, is the accumulation of triglycerides within hepatocytes.

Correct answer: Triglycerides
  • A. Closely apposed clean edges
  • B. Widely separated infected edges
  • C. Extensive tissue loss and granulation
  • D. A large necrotic wound bed

Explanation: First-intention healing occurs when clean wound edges are closely apposed, allowing limited granulation tissue and a small scar.

Correct answer: Closely apposed clean edges
  • A. Hepatocytes and Kupffer cells
  • B. Neurons of the central nervous system
  • C. Renal tubular epithelium
  • D. Skeletal muscle fibres

Explanation: Negri bodies are eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies found in neurons during rabies infection, especially in the hippocampus…

Correct answer: Neurons of the central nervous system
  • A. Lymphocytes
  • B. Eosinophils
  • C. Neutrophils
  • D. Plasma cells

Explanation: Neutrophils are rapidly recruited from blood and dominate most early acute inflammatory responses.

Correct answer: Neutrophils
  • A. Formation from hydrostatic pressure
  • B. Clearer fluid appearance
  • C. Lower cellular content
  • D. Higher protein concentration

Explanation: An exudate forms when vascular permeability increases, allowing protein and cells to escape into tissues.

Correct answer: Higher protein concentration
  • A. Necrotic tissue with normal serum calcium
  • B. Healthy tissue with severe hypercalcaemia
  • C. Normal tissue with reduced phosphate
  • D. Living tissue with low serum calcium

Explanation: Dystrophic calcification develops in damaged or necrotic tissues even when blood calcium is normal.

Correct answer: Necrotic tissue with normal serum calcium
  • A. Irreversible transformation into a malignant cell
  • B. Reversible replacement by another mature cell type
  • C. Increase in cell size without tissue replacement
  • D. Increase in cell number after permanent injury

Explanation: Metaplasia is a reversible change in which one differentiated adult cell type is replaced by another better suited to persistent stress.

Correct answer: Reversible replacement by another mature cell type
  • A. C3a
  • B. C5a
  • C. C3b
  • D. C9

Explanation: C3b binds to microbial surfaces and promotes their recognition and phagocytosis by leukocytes.

Correct answer: C3b
  • A. IgA
  • B. IgG
  • C. IgM
  • D. IgE

Explanation: IgE binds to mast cells and basophils, and allergen-mediated cross-linking triggers rapid mediator release.

Correct answer: IgE
  • A. Myofibroblast
  • B. Fibrocyte
  • C. Neutrophil
  • D. Endothelial cell

Explanation: Myofibroblasts contain contractile actin filaments and pull wound margins toward the centre during repair.

Correct answer: Myofibroblast
  • A. Primary cardiac pump failure
  • B. Reduced circulating blood volume
  • C. Systemic bacterial vasodilation
  • D. Acute airway obstruction

Explanation: Hypovolaemic shock begins with loss of blood or body fluid, which reduces venous return and cardiac output.

Correct answer: Reduced circulating blood volume
  • A. Oil Red O
  • B. Congo red
  • C. Prussian blue
  • D. Periodic acid-Schiff

Explanation: Prussian blue detects ferric iron within hemosiderin by producing a blue reaction product.

Correct answer: Prussian blue
  • A. Dystrophic mineralization
  • B. Nuclear fragmentation
  • C. Plasma membrane rupture
  • D. Cellular swelling

Explanation: Cellular swelling results from failure of energy-dependent ion pumps and is a common early, reversible change.

Correct answer: Cellular swelling

Veterinary Pathology MCQs: common questions

Are these Veterinary Pathology MCQs free?

Yes. All Veterinary Pathology MCQs from Veterinary Science are free on TestUstad, with unlimited attempts and no account needed. Nothing on this page is a sample or a trial.

How many Veterinary Pathology MCQs are on this page?

There are 60 Veterinary Pathology MCQs in the Veterinary Science bank, shown 20 to a page with the correct answer and an explanation on each.

Does every Veterinary Pathology MCQ have an explanation?

Yes. Each Veterinary Pathology question shows the correct option and a written explanation of why it is correct, so a wrong answer teaches you something rather than just being marked wrong.

Can I take a timed Veterinary Pathology test?

Yes. The practice button on this page starts a free Veterinary Pathology test drawn from the Veterinary Science bank. It marks each answer instantly, gives you a score at the end, and can be retaken as many times as you like.