LAUSR

Simple Summary In the recent past, the concepts of exotic animal medicine and zoological medicine have been used wrongly or interchangeably. The veterinary community should adopt zoological medicine as the appropriate term to cover the veterinary medicine of non-traditional companion animals, zoo animals, and wildlife animals. Furthermore, zoological medicine should be also integrated into the ecosystem health evaluation (environmental medicine) and the “One Health” approachBeyond the terminology, zoological medicine has evolved and expanded its activities and action fields from its historical roots to afford new and challenging scenarios. In this context, the practice of zoological medicine includes its exercise in private veterinary clinics and hospitals, zoos and bioparks, and directly on wildlife. Several studies and international organisations have stressed the importance of high-quality veterinary training in this discipline, at the beginning and continuously during the professional practice. This fact is consistent with an increased societal demand for skilled and trained veterinarians concerning a broader species target and a wider scientific and technical scope including fields including eco-biology, environmental management, public health, welfare, and conservation. These challenging scenarios can only be correctly met by implementing more related compulsory subjects in the veterinary curriculum and post-degree specialisation and accreditation. Abstract The role of veterinarians is becoming more significant and necessary to support the welfare and health not only of non-traditional companion animals and wildlife animals, but also of humans and the environment. The importance of the One Health/One World concept and its social impact is increasing significantly, accompanied by the notoriety of new emerging and reemerging zoonoses. This paper aims to review and anchor the main concepts and professional applications of zoological medicine, which has been extensively discussed and adapted in recent decades. In addition, we analyse the main social demands, training, and educational needs and the perception of veterinary professionals relating to this specialised veterinary discipline. Our final goal is to reinforce the use of the term zoological medicine and contribute to highlight the need to foster and underpin specific educational policies and programs on this matter in the veterinary curricula. Zoological medicine should be the appropriate and agreed-upon term in the academic language concerning the veterinary medicine of pets, wild, or zoo species, excluding traditional domestic animals, and integrating the principles of ecology and conservation, applied to both natural and artificial environments. This discipline has suffered an intense evolution covering applications in private clinics, zoos, bioparks, and wildlife. All this implies current and future challenges for the veterinary profession that can only be addressed with greater and better attention from multiple perspectives, especially the education and training of professionals to improve and specialise in their professional scope of services.