TOPICS IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY Introduction—Open Article Issue Thomas N. Tully Jr, DVM, MS, Dip. ABVP (Avian), Dip. ECZM (Avian), and Mark A. Mitchell, DVM, MS, PhD, Dip. ECZM (Herpetology) To the readership of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, welcome to the future. In this issue, you will be reading articles that have been submitted by your colleagues and not solicited by a guest editor. Through 2016, the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine is set with guest editors and topic issues, but after that time all articles published in this journal will have been directly submitted to the journal through our online submission software program, Elsevier Editorial System. The online submission process of articles from veterinarians to this journal has been a success and continues to grow. In 2013, there were more than 100 articles submitted to the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. With the number of articles being submitted and the advancements in companion exotic medicine and surgery, the elevation of this journal to one only accepting unsolicited articles is an indication of the growth being experienced in this area of veterinary medicine. In addition to the change in format, we, as Co-Editors-In-Chief, will be making a change in the Editorial Board of the Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine. The current editorial board has been in place since the journal’s inception 20 years ago as Seminars in Avian and Exotic Animal Medicine. This is quite unusual as many journals regularly review and modify their editorial boards. Our editorial board has worked well and contributed significantly to the success of the journal. It is time to add new members and thank those that have performed so well over the years for a job well
done. It has been a commitment not only from the journal to the editorial board but also of the individual members of the board to the journal. For that commitment and brining the journal from its infancy to its current success, the Co-Editors-InChief are much appreciative. We are looking forward to the new editorial board following in the tradition of its past members. In this issue, you will see the diversity that represents exotic animal medicine, from alligator research that has clinical applications to all veterinarians, a review on the interpretation and treatment of arterial blood pressures and blood gases in birds, a coelioscopic investigation in European eel (Anguilla anguilla), sedation of pet birds, and 6 articles that focus on small exotic mammal medicine and surgery in the AEMV Forum. All of these articles have information that will expand the knowledge of the exotic animal veterinarian and continue to expand our ability to treat the patients we are presented. The Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine offers our readership a unique opportunity to read articles that involve the many animal groups that are treated in an exotic animal practice. It is an international journal that is published by the leader in medical publishing and published in full color with no additional charges. We encourage all of our colleagues to continue supporting the journal through manuscript submissions to help grow the journal that you have help build.
From the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA USA; and the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL USA. Address correspondence to: Thomas N. Tully, Jr, DVM, MS, Dip. ABVP (Avian), Dip. ECZM (Avian), Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Skip Bertman Dr, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. E-mail:
[email protected]. Ó 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1557-5063/14/2101-$30.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.jepm.2014.02.013
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