The terms ‘zoological medicine’ and ‘exotic animal medicine’ have often been used interchangeably in discussion about those animals that are not dogs, cats, horses or farm animals. Zoological medicine has been defined as encompassing companion animal medicine (small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish), zoo animal medicine, aquatic animal medicine (marine mammals, display fish), production medicine (farmed/ranched wildlife, game birds and aquaculture) and environmental medicine (free-ranging wildlife, conservation/preservation, ecosystem health) (Stokopf and others 2001). Conversely, the term ‘exotic animal medicine’ is commonly applied only to certain pet species of rabbits and rodents, reptiles and birds and has perhaps entered common UK parlance since the publication of the BSAVA Manual of Exotic Pets. The term ‘exotic’ is defined by several veterinary dictionaries as “an animal that is not indigenous to a location where it currently lives”. Rabbits are now the third most common pet in the UK, only out-ranked by dogs and cats (Pet Food Manufacturer's Association 2002). There are now an estimated two million pet rabbits in the UK and since the species was first introduced to the UK in the 12th century the term ‘exotic’ is perhaps somewhat outdated. Further, when discussing ‘exotic’ reptile, mammal and bird medicine and surgery it is an artifice to suggest that diagnostic and treatment techniques are markedly different if an animal is kept in a pet, zoo or wildlife situation. In fact, even rabbits as small prey herbivore species behave much more like a ‘wild’ animal than a domesticated dog. Therefore as an all encompassing term for medicine of pet, wild or zoo species of reptiles birds and (non dog/cat/horse/farm) mammals the term ‘zoological medicine’ is to be preferred. Rabbit medicine is fast becoming ‘mainstream’ in clinical veterinary practice. The provision of rabbit pet insurance by several companies undoubtedly enables owners and vets to pursue more advanced medical and surgical therapies for these patients. There are two UK residency programmes focussing on rabbit medicine and surgery, one each at Bristol and Edinburgh Universities. Residencies have also been established at several zoos in the UK (Bristol, Chester, Edinburgh and London) to advance the field of zoological medicine. Formal teaching of the subject at undergraduate level in UK universities is a relatively recent development, with a clinic and programme established at Edinburgh University from 1994 and at Bristol University in 2004. Lecture-based teaching of zoological medicine occurs at several other UK vet schools. Several authors note the apparent reluctance to teach zoological medicine at the undergraduate level (Zwart 1994, Stoskopf and others 2001) although others acknowledge that this may be because the core curriculum is already so congested (Kirkwood 1994). A European wide survey of undergraduate training in zoological medicine noted that despite the growing interest in this field it is still primarily taught as an elective subject (Zwart 1994). Interest in teaching this subject has continued with an entire issue of the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, entitled “zoological medicine” dedicated to the topic (Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 33(3) 2006). After graduation there are various options for the individual wishing to pursue zoological medicine. Since 1994, the Institute of Zoology in London and the Royal Veterinary College of the University of London have jointly run an MSc course in wild animal health. (Sainsbury and others 1998). There is a similar MSc offered in Spain and veterinary zoological PhD programmes are offered in the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic (Frolich and others 2006). Specialisation in zoological medicine is well established in the UK, USA and Australia. In 1996 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) established a Certificate and Diploma for zoological medicine and there are currently 52 and 12 holders respectively of these qualifications. The RCVS also recognises Specialist Status in this area of which there are 19 holders. The American College of Zoological Medicine, established in 1983, now has 107 Diplomates. At present the only pan European veterinary specialisation in ‘non domestic animals’ is restricted to birds through the European College of Avian Medicine and Surgery (ECAMS) with only five residency programs (based in the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom and USA) with 24 ECAMS Diplomates (Frolich and others 2006). There is currently an initiative to establish a European College of Zoological Medicine (ECZM) with subdivisions under the European Board of Veterinary Specialists (EBVS) (Frohlich and others 2006). The literature base for the field of zoological medicine is much smaller that that of many other veterinary fields, but it is growing. Since the first book on the subject was published in 1977 (Harkness and Wagner 1977) there are now over 60 specialist books available. Searches via PubMed found fewer than 200 papers relating to clinical reptile issues, although over 200 devoted to encephalitozoonosis in rabbits alone. Several journals are now dedicated to this field including the Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, Journal of Wildlife Disease, Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery and the Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery. The Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) published a bibliography of pet birds in 1969 listing a paltry 12 papers. Now there are over 800 clinical avian papers listed on PubMed. JSAP has published recent seminal papers addressing issues facing zoological medicine species: pet chinchillas in three papers since 1998, five ferret papers since 1995, and 15 rabbit papers since 1981 as well as reptile and bird topics (including Lawrence 1983, Chesney 1998, Crossley 2001, Crossley and others 1998, Lu and others 2004, Lloyd and Lewis 2004, Eatwell 2004, Sasai and others 2000, Harcourt-Brown and Baker 2001, Philips 1986, Monks and Forbes 2006). The topics of two papers recently published in JSAP (first reports of radiotherapy in a ferret [Nakata 2008] and osteosarcoma in a chinchilla [Simova-Curd 2008]) are an indication of the early and rapidly evolving field of exotic animal medicine. In 1999 the recipient of the BSAVA Frank Beattie Travel Scholarship, undertook a study trip to the USA and was quoted as saying ‘In common with many vets, rabbit medicine was not just poorly taught to me as a student, it simply wasn’t taught at all.’ (McNeill 2000). Since then we have had numerous publications advancing the field and several publications suggesting that ‘all veterinary schools should expect clinical competency in their vet students in birds, reptiles, small mammals and fish’ (Stoskopf and others 2001) and arguing that ‘the broadly comparative and health-maintenance basis of zoological medicine contributes critically to the potential for veterinary medicine to make important contributions to the concept of the integrated health of the planet’ (Stoskopf 2006). Future development of veterinary undergraduate teaching and encouragement of publications by those practising in zoological medicine will, and should, prevent future veterinary graduates commenting that they known nothing about this important field of veterinary medicine. Sharon Redrobe graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 1994. She holds the RCVS Diploma in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, the RCVS Certificate in Laboratory Animal Science and is an RCVS Specialist in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine. She spent five years at the University of Edinburgh as Deputy Head of the Zoo and Exotic Animal Service before moving to Bristol where she holds an Honorary Senior Lectureship at the University of Bristol and is the Head of Veterinary Services at Bristol Zoo Gardens.