The short answer
This page holds 12 original practice questions on veterinary diagnostic imaging. Our desk wrote them from published veterinary and federal safety sources. They are not exam items and are not meant to predict any. The set is grouped into three areas: exposure factors and image formation, positioning and view terminology, and radiation safety. Each question has a short rationale tied to its source. The AAVSB page we could fetch confirms that the VTNE has a published content outline and 10 domain areas, but it does not say how much of the exam covers imaging.
Key takeaways
- The Merck Veterinary Manual names three exposure factors that can be adjusted on most machines: kilovoltage potential, milliamperes and exposure time. It describes milliampere-seconds as the product of milliamperes and time [2].
- Today's Veterinary Nurse explains that a radiographic view is named for where the beam enters the patient, followed by where it exits [5].
- Today's Veterinary Practice says thoracic exposures should be made at peak inspiration [6]. Today's Veterinary Nurse says abdominal radiographs should be taken during expiration [5].
- OSHA states that doubling the distance from an x-ray or gamma source "decreases the dose rate by a factor of 4" [8].
- Merck says lead gloves and aprons reduce scatter exposure by roughly a factor of 1,000 but reduce primary-beam exposure by only about a factor of 10 [2].
About these questionsPractice questions written by our editorial team for study purposes. These are not real VTNE items and are not affiliated with AAVSB.
Diagnostic imaging in the VTNE outline
The American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) publishes a content outline for the VTNE and describes it as "one of the most important materials to review before taking the VTNE" [1]. According to AAVSB, the exam and its paid practice tests are organized around 10 domain areas [1]. AAVSB also says the species covered follow the AVMA accreditation list of essential and recommended skills for veterinary technology students [1]. The fetched AAVSB page does not name the individual domains or give their share of scored items, so this guide states no weight for imaging.
Exposure factors and image formation
Question 1
A technician raises the kVp setting for a thick-chested dog and leaves mA and exposure time unchanged. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, how does this change the x-ray beam?
- A. Fewer x-rays pass through the patient
- B. Image contrast increases
- C. A higher percentage of x-rays penetrate the patient
- D. The exposure time lengthens automatically
Answer: C. The Merck Veterinary Manual states that higher kilovolt settings produce higher-energy x-rays, so a larger share penetrate the subject. It adds that contrast decreases rather than increases [2].
Question 2
A radiograph is made at the 100 mA station with an exposure time of 0.10 second. What is the milliampere-seconds value?
- A. 1 mAs
- B. 10 mAs
- C. 100 mAs
- D. 1,000 mAs
Answer: B. Today's Veterinary Practice defines mAs as the mA station multiplied by the time setting and uses this same example, 100 mA x 0.10 sec = 10 mAs [6].
Question 3
Which of the following best describes a radiographic grid?
- A. A foam trough that keeps the patient's spine straight
- B. A panel of phosphorescent crystals that converts x-rays into light
- C. A positioning strap with a radiopaque buckle
- D. A thin plate of alternating lead and plastic strips set between the patient and the image receptor
Answer: D. Merck describes a grid as a thin plate made of alternating thin strips of lead and plastic. It sits between the patient and the film to reduce exposure from scattered radiation, which Merck says becomes a problem at 10 cm or more of thickness (15 cm for digital systems). Merck describes panels of phosphorescent crystals like those in option B as phosphorescent screens used with film [2].
Question 4
Of the following materials, which absorbs the most x-rays and appears most radiopaque?
- A. Metal
- B. Fat
- C. Gas
- D. Soft tissue
Answer: A. Merck lists five radiographic opacities: gas, fat, fluid or soft tissue, bone or mineral, and metal or contrast material [2]. Today's Veterinary Nurse notes that denser materials such as metal and bone absorb more x-rays [5].
Positioning and view terminology
Question 5
A cat lies in dorsal recumbency for an abdominal study, and the beam travels from its belly through to its back. What is the correct name for this view?
- A. Dorsoventral
- B. Lateromedial
- C. Ventrodorsal
- D. Caudocranial
Answer: C. Today's Veterinary Nurse explains that a view name begins with the beam's entry point and ends with its exit point, so a patient on its back gives a ventrodorsal view [5]. The Purdue authors add that ventrodorsal and dorsoventral apply to the body or head, while craniocaudal and caudocranial describe limbs [4].
Question 6
For a lateral abdominal radiograph, the beam enters a dog's left side and exits its right side. Under the abbreviated naming convention used for small animal laterals, what is this view called?
- A. Left lateral
- B. Right lateral
- C. Ventrodorsal
- D. Lateromedial
Answer: B. Today's Veterinary Nurse says lateral thoracic and abdominal views are shortened to the beam's exit point, so a left-right lateral is called a right lateral. The article cautions that common abbreviations are not always correct [5].
Question 7
At what point in the respiratory cycle should a routine abdominal radiograph of a dog be exposed?
- A. Peak inspiration
- B. During panting
- C. At the moment of a cough
- D. Expiration
Answer: D. Today's Veterinary Nurse says abdominal films should be taken during expiration, when the diaphragm moves cranially and the abdominal organs separate more [5]. Merck also says abdominal radiographs are ideally made at peak expiration, if feasible [2]. Thoracic exposures, by contrast, are made at peak inspiration [6].
Question 8
A clinician orders a complete thoracic radiographic study of a coughing cat. Which set of views does the Merck Veterinary Manual describe as complete?
- A. Left lateral, right lateral, and ventrodorsal and/or dorsoventral
- B. A single right lateral
- C. A single ventrodorsal
- D. Two dorsoventral views
Answer: A. Merck says a complete thoracic study in a cat or dog includes left and right laterals plus a VD and/or DV view [2]. Today's Veterinary Practice calls the three-view thorax "considered the standard of care in veterinary medicine" [6].
Question 9
When collimating a lateral abdominal radiograph, which landmarks mark the cranial and caudal limits of the field, according to Today's Veterinary Nurse?
- A. The manubrium and the 13th rib
- B. The cranial tip of the liver with the adjacent diaphragm, and the greater trochanter of the femur
- C. The thoracic inlet and the umbilicus
- D. The caudal scapula and the tail base
Answer: B. Today's Veterinary Nurse gives the cranial tip of the liver and adjacent diaphragm as the cranial limit of the abdomen and the greater trochanter as the caudal limit. The manubrium and the last rib are thoracic landmarks [5][6].
Radiation safety
Question 10
A staff member standing 1 meter from an x-ray source moves to 2 meters away. Under the inverse square law, what fraction of the original dose rate remains at the new position?
- A. Twice the original
- B. One-half
- C. One-quarter
- D. Unchanged
Answer: C. OSHA states that for x-rays and gamma rays, doubling the distance cuts the dose rate by a factor of 4 [8]. Today's Veterinary Nurse gives the same one-quarter figure [7].
Question 11
Why should lead-gloved hands be kept out of the primary beam during radiography?
- A. Lead protective equipment guards mainly against scatter and offers little protection from the primary beam
- B. Lead gloves block the collimator light
- C. The primary beam carries less energy than scatter radiation
- D. Lead gloves only protect against ultrasound energy
Answer: A. Merck reports that gloves and aprons reduce scatter exposure about 1,000-fold but primary-beam exposure only about 10-fold [2]. Today's Veterinary Practice states that lead shielding "never protects the individual from primary radiation exposure" [6].
Question 12
A practice wants to lower staff exposure during thoracic radiographs of calm dogs. Which change applies the distance principle of ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable)?
- A. Adding a thyroid shield to each staff member's gear
- B. Shortening the exposure time
- C. Rotating holding duties among technicians
- D. Securing patients with sandbags, straps and foam wedges so staff can leave the patient's side or step behind a barrier
Answer: D. Today's Veterinary Nurse lists positioning devices, used with sedation or analgesia as needed, under the distance principle because they let staff move away from the beam [7]. The CDC uses the example of a technician going behind a barrier during an x-ray to show how time, distance, and shielding work together [9]. OSHA describes ALARA as a principle used to eliminate radiation doses that have no direct benefit [8].
