Examination Procedure
A comprehensive examination will be administered in an effort to assure that those who successfully pass it will be a credit to the profession and fully capable of functioning as toxicologists in any area with dignity, respect, and wisdom.
The examination will be given only to those who have satisfied all the requirements of the Examination Prerequisites on the Exam Application page.
Examination Procedure
Please note: The qualifying examination is undergoing restructuring for the 2025 examination year. Those candidates who are taking the examination for the first time will be taking the new format, while those candidates who have taken the examination at least once will continue to take the examination in its previous format. Both formats consist of 4 sections (see below) and is administered electronically (i.e. by computer) in a designated location. The computer must have a webcam and microphone, if a live proctor is not available.
All exam takers will be required to sign an Agreement of Confidentiality and Nondisclosure prior to taking the exam. Additionally, if the candidate is taking the examination without a proctor present, they will be required to scan the room they are taking the exam in at the beginning of each section.
ABVT utilizes the Modified-Angoff approach for examination scoring. Each item in the question bank is independently scored by a group of subject matter experts. The group then meets to discuss any items that have discrepant scores. During the discussion, the experts may choose to change their scores. The final cut score for each item is the mean of the experts’ scores. The final cut score for each exam section is the mean of the cut scores for the items included in that section. The cut scores for the exam sections change each year as they are dependent on which items are included on the exam. A passing score for each section is considered to be one standard error of the mean (SEM) below the cut score for all sections. This process may change from year to year. Current processes will be sent to each candidate every year.
Results for each section taken will be reported to the candidate as pass/fail. It is the policy of the ABVT not to share actual scores achieved on any section that the candidate has taken.
If the candidate passes one or more of the examination sections, the candidate may be reexamined in the following year(s) on the remaining sections not passed as long as it is within the time frame established by the ABVT.
Examination Date & Time
The ABVT Certification Exam will be held on Sunday, June 15, 2025. All candidates must confirm their intention to take the examination with the candidate coordinator no later than May 1, 2025.
Examination Topics
A comprehensive examination will be given to demonstrate the fitness and ability of the candidate to practice the specialty of veterinary toxicology. Candidates will be examined for knowledge within the broad discipline of veterinary toxicology including but not necessarily limited to the following:
- the concept of toxicology, its usefulness, definitions, and philosophies;
- dosage-response relationships;
- metabolism and detoxification;
- toxicology of inorganic compounds;
- toxicology of synthetic organic compounds;
- toxicology of plant poisons and biotoxins;
- toxicology of radiation and radiomimetic compounds;
- residues and residual effects of chemicals and radiation in foods;
- testing for safety, including experimental design and interpretation;
- antidotal procedures and;
- environmental toxicology - industrial, water, and air contamination.
Please note changes to examination procedure:
The ABVT examination will undergo formatting changes starting with the 2025 examination year that will apply to any candidate taking the examination for the first time. All candidates will receive information from the candidate coordinator regarding which exam format individual candidates will be given.
Candidates who have taken the examination at least once will continue to take the previous format throughout their current eligibility cycle. The format of the examination is arranged into the following categories in four (4) test sections:
Section I.
- Toxic Plants
- Biotoxins
- Drugs and Feed Additive
Section II.
- Concepts
- Definitions
- Dose Response
- Metabolism
- Safety Testing
Section III.
- Inorganic Compounds
- Organic Compounds
- Radiation
- Environmental Residues
Section IV.
- Clinical and Diagnostic Toxicology
- Antidotal Procedures
Candidates taking the examination for the first time in 2025 will take the new format arranged in four (4) domains as follows:
Domain 1: Principles of Toxicology
A. Definitions of terms used in toxicology
B. Understand the difference/similarities between pharmacology and toxicology
C. Recognize various ways to categorize toxicants (systems affected, class of toxicant, use
of toxicant, origin of toxicants/toxins)
D. Concepts of toxicology
1. Dose-Response curves
2. Major differences among species
3. Fate in Animals
i. Toxicokinetics
ii. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, including toxification and detoxification, and excretion (ADME)
iii. Differences related to routes of exposure (injection, respiratory, oral, dermal)
iv. Relevance of ADME to toxicology and how toxicant-, dose-, and species specific differences in ADME are used to determine target organs,decontamination and treatment, diagnosis, and residue concerns
4. Toxicodynamics
5. Calculations
6. Time frames
i. Acute
ii. Subchronic
iii. Chronic
7. General mechanisms of toxic action
i. Chemical injury
ii. Receptors
iii. Oxidative damage
iv. Apoptosis or necrosis
v. Mutagenesis
vi. Carcinogenesis
vii. Endocrine disruption
viii. Developmental and reproductive toxicity
E. Regulatory
1. Major laws mandating toxicity testing
2. How toxic hazards change over time through product choices and regulations (anticoagulant rodenticides, organophosphate insecticides)
3. Reporting requirements
4. Hazard assessment
i. Steps and data needed to characterize a hazard
5. Understanding concepts of safety assessment and testing
6. Experimental designs and interpretations
7. Good Laboratory Practices
8. Mammalian and avian species commonly required for acute and chronic testing
9. Evaluating new biomarkers
10. Understanding basic concepts of a new assay
11. Residues in foods of animal origin
i. Tolerances
ii. Considerations in withdrawal periods
F. Risk assessment
1. Steps and data needed to evaluate a risk
2. Risk communication
3. Assessing quality of literature on toxicity; evidence, distribution and level of exposure in decision making
4. Inter-species extrapolation (translational value) in toxicology
G. Diagnostic toxicology
1. Strengths/limitations of commonly used evidence-based sources of toxicology information
2. Considerations for cases involving potential litigation and/or insurance claims
3. Gathering and assessing histories and creating differential diagnoses lists (may include toxicants and other etiologies)
4. Sampling
i. Antemortem
ii. Postmortem
5. Analysis
i. Chemical analyses (targeted vs. non-targeted)
ii. Gross pathology
iii. Histopathology
iv. Ultrastructure
6. Interpretation
i. Lesions or lack of lesions
ii. Influence of time interval between exposure and sampling
iii. Influence of time interval between sampling and analysis
7. Common artifacts induced by:
i. Time of sampling
ii. Sample collection factors
iii. Handling and storage
iv. Analytic factors
H. General treatment concepts
1. Decontamination practices
i. Reducing absorption
ii. Preventing toxification
iii. Altering distribution
iv. Enhancing detoxification and excretion
2. Counteracting toxic effects
i. General supportive care
ii. Antidotal therapies
3. Avoiding incidental human and animal exposure
4. Understanding labels and other product information for insight into uses and toxicity
Domain 2: Biological toxins in North America
A. Bacterial toxins
B. Mycotoxins, mushrooms
C. Phycotoxins
1. Algal toxins
2. Cyanobacterial toxins
D. Toxic plants
E. Zootoxins
Domain 3: Non-biological toxicants
A. Automotive, household, and industrial
B. Drugs (OTC, Rx, and illicit) and dietary supplements
C. Elements including metals and metalloids
D. Minerals and inorganic compounds
E. Feed additives (e.g., urea, ionophores)
F. Pesticides (e.g., insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, avicides, molluscicides, canicides)
Domain 4: Environmental
A. Automotive, household, and industrial
1. Point-source
2. Non-point-source
3. Environmental fate
i. Transport
ii. Toxification and detoxification
iii.Binding to sediments
4. Bioconcentration/biomagnification
5. Toxicant/matrix interactions that influence bioavailability
i. Cleanup of contaminants and other forms of remediation
ii. Terrestrial toxicity issues
iii. Aquatic toxicity issues
E. Drinking water quality and toxicity
1. Suitability of water for livestock
F. Contaminants from industry and other sources in water, air, soil, and food webs
1. Solvents
2. Volatiles and gasses
3. Combustion products
4. Intentionally synthesized toxicants in products, wastes and effluents
5. Unintentional contaminants in products, wastes and effluents
G. Radiation and Radiomimetic Compounds
H. Disposal of contaminated carcasses and other sources of toxicants