This paper reviews epileptogenesis- the process by which a normal brain develops into an epileptic brain. There are 3 distinct phases to epileptogenesis- the latent period (before seizures occur), the occurrence of recurrent seizures and (in about 30% of patients) the development of refractory epilepsy. For the small animal practitioner, understanding the latest research about the pathophysiology of the latent period would help them understand possible target areas for future treatments to prevent epilepsy rather than just symptomatically managing recurrent seizures. Current areas research on the latent period include neurodegeneration, neurogenesis, axonal sprouting, glial cell activation, invasion of inflammatory cells, angiogenesis, and subclinical alteration of ligand- and receptor-gated ion channels.