This guide contains the list of books and journals recommended as study materials for the American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmology (ABVO) (under the umbrella of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists) examination. Residents are responsible for ensuring they are using the correct edition of a book for their exam. Please ask your librarian, mentor, or specialty board examination committee if questions arise.
"All Written examination questions are supported by a reference within the past seven years or from a textbook or journal article on this list of “Required” references."
Source: RESOURCE MATERIAL FOR ABVO RESIDENTS (Revised November 2022)
Veterinary Ocular Pathology: a comparative review (print) by 
Eye Surgery by 
Veterinary Ophthalmology, 2 Volume Set by 
Veterinary Ophthalmic Surgery by 
Equine Ophthalmology by 
Standards for Ocular Toxicology and Inflammation by 
Miller and Evans' Anatomy of the dog by 
Adler's Physiology of the Eye by 
Slatter's Fundamentals of Veterinary Ophthalmology by 
Jubb, Kennedy, and Palmer's Pathology of Domestic Animals (print) by 
Ophthalmic Microsurgical Suturing Techniques by 
Phacodynamics: Mastering the Tools and Techniques of Phacoemulsification Surgery by 
Color Atlas of Veterinary Ophthalmology by 
Atlas of Feline Ophthalmology by 
Color Atlas of Canine and Feline Ophthalmology by 
Small Animal Ophthalmic Atlas and Guide (print) by
System of Ophthalmology - Vol. 1, The Eye in Evolution by Comparative Anatomy of the Eye by Microsurgery of the Anterior Segment of the Eye: Introduction and Basic Techniques by 
Havener's Ocular Pharmacology by Large Animal Ophthalmology by Atlas of Veterinary Ophthalmoscopy by ABVO residents are responsible for knowing the published literature for the seven years prior to the year of their examination. For the 2023 examination, material is taken from manuscripts with a publication date from 2016 to 2022. For journals which provide both electronic and printed versions, this can be confusing since a date is assigned to a manuscript when it comes out as ‘ePub ahead of print’ (DOI), and again when it is assigned to a specific issue of the printed journal. The publication date for the purposes of the ABVO Exam, is defined as the date which a publication is assigned to a printed journal issue.
In general, questions on the Multiple Choice (MC) examination will not be derived from case reports that involve single animals, although images from these case reports may appear in the Image Recognition (IR) examination.
Supplemental questions may also be derived from pertinent articles that appear in the journals below:
