CVA Surgical and Laboratory Assisting 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which instrument is used to retract tissue edges and improve visualization of the surgical field?
- Metzenbaum scissors
- Gelpi retractor (Correct answer)
- Allis tissue forceps
- Mosquito hemostat
Correct answer: Gelpi retractor
A Gelpi retractor is a self-retaining retractor that holds tissue edges apart to improve surgical exposure without requiring an assistant to hold them.
Question 2: What is the correct order for putting on sterile surgical attire after performing a surgical scrub?
- Mask, gown, gloves
- Gown, gloves, mask (Correct answer)
- Mask, gloves, gown
- Gloves, gown, mask
Correct answer: Gown, gloves, mask
After scrubbing, the gown is donned first, then sterile gloves are applied to maintain sterile technique throughout the process.
Question 3: In a complete blood count (CBC), which cell type is elevated during a bacterial infection?
- Erythrocytes
- Thrombocytes
- Neutrophils (Correct answer)
- Eosinophils
Correct answer: Neutrophils
Neutrophils are the primary white blood cells that respond to bacterial infection, and their count is typically elevated (neutrophilia) during such infections.
Question 4: Which of the following is a sign that a surgical instrument has been contaminated and must be replaced or re-sterilized?
- The chemical indicator on the pack has changed color
- The pack wrap is intact but damp or wet (Correct answer)
- The autoclave tape has darkened stripes
- The pack is labeled with the sterilization date
Correct answer: The pack wrap is intact but damp or wet
A wet or damp pack after autoclaving is considered contaminated because moisture allows microorganisms to wick through the packaging material.
Question 5: A urinalysis reveals a urine specific gravity of 1.008 in a dog. What does this finding most likely indicate?
- Concentrated urine suggesting dehydration
- Isosthenuric urine suggesting impaired renal concentrating ability (Correct answer)
- Normal urine concentration
- Highly concentrated urine suggesting diabetes insipidus
Correct answer: Isosthenuric urine suggesting impaired renal concentrating ability
A specific gravity of 1.008–1.012 is isosthenuric, meaning the kidneys are producing urine at the same concentration as the glomerular filtrate, indicating impaired concentrating ability.
Question 6: Which instrument is specifically designed to clamp and ligate blood vessels during surgery?
- Adson tissue forceps
- Rochester-Carmalt forceps (Correct answer)
- Babcock intestinal forceps
- Rat-tooth forceps
Correct answer: Rochester-Carmalt forceps
Rochester-Carmalt forceps are large crushing clamps used to occlude blood vessels and pedicles before ligation during surgery.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of performing a Gram stain on a laboratory sample?
- To identify fungal organisms
- To differentiate bacteria based on cell wall composition (Correct answer)
- To determine antibiotic sensitivity
- To count red blood cells
Correct answer: To differentiate bacteria based on cell wall composition
A Gram stain differentiates bacteria into gram-positive (purple) and gram-negative (pink/red) categories based on differences in their cell wall composition.
CVA Surgical and Laboratory Assisting 3
Which instrument is used to retract tissue edges and improve visualization of the surgical field?