Browse

Authors often err in referring to anatomic regions or structures as the “right heart,” “left chest,” “left neck,” and “right brain.” Generally these terms can be corrected by inserting a phrase such as “part of the” or “side of the.” right side of the heart; right atrium; right ventricle left side of the chest; left hemithorax left aspect of the neck right hemisphere [query author] ascending [not right] and descending [not left] colonWhere appropriate, use specific anatomic descriptors:The upper extremity comprises the arm (extending from the shoulder to the elbow), the forearm (from the elbow to the wrist), and the ...Less

This score is an assessment of a newborn’s physical well-being based on the 5 parameters of heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex irritability, and color, each of which is rated 0, 1, or 2; the 5 ratings are then summed. The Apgar score is often reported as 2 numbers, from 0 to 10, separated by a virgule or forward slash, reflecting assessment at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth. In general medical journals, however, it is best to specify the time intervals, especially as the Apgar score may be assessed at other intervals, eg, 10, 15, or 20 minutes.The ...Less

Quotation marks are sometimes used around words for special effect or to indicate irony. In most instances, however, they are unnecessary.Using their own finances and being informed about the economics of the approach, some may opt for the “boutique class” of health care. ...Less

Use the apostrophe to show the possessive case of proper nouns in accordance with the following examples (see also , Eponyms, Nonpossessive Form): Jones' bones (1 person named Jones) the Joneses' bones (2 or more people named Jones) If a singular or plural word does not end in s, add 's to form the possessive. If a proper noun or name ends in a silent s, z, or x, form the possessive by adding 's.Theroux’s The Mosquito Coast Jacqueline du Pres’s recordingsDo not use 's with possessive pronouns: his, hers, ours, its, yours, theirs, whose.The idea was hers. Give the ...Less

If a paper is rejected, authors occasionally ask for reconsideration, usually because they believe the reviewers or the editor have misjudged the importance and quality of the submission. This situation can be viewed in 2 different ways. On the one hand, peer review and editorial decisions are based on fallible human judgments. Mistakes can be made, so perhaps the rejected manuscript merits reconsideration. On the other hand, heeding appeals for reconsideration may fulfill the adage “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Reconsideration of papers solely on the basis of author complaints could be unfair to authors who have equally legitimate ...Less

Some journals publish appendixes, at least occasionally, for material that might be considered ancillary to the content of the article itself (eg, derivation of a complex formula used in the article, a survey instrument used in a study, statistical modeling details). JAMA and the Archives Journals generally do not use appendixes. If these are worthy of publication because they contain important information, they could be considered for online-only publication (see , Online-Only [Supplementary] Material). On rare occasions, however, they serve a useful purpose for data that cannot easily be presented as a table or a figure and are too central ...Less

The article a is used before the aspirate h (eg, a historic occasion) and nonvocalic y (eg, a ubiquitous organism). Abbreviations and acronyms are preceded by a or an according to the sound following (eg, a UN resolution, an HMO plan). (See also , Abbreviations, Agencies and Organizations.) ...Less

Editorials are short essays that usually reflect the views of the editor or the policies of the journal. Editorials may be written by the editor, a member of the editorial staff or editorial board, or an invited author. Editorials may comment on an article in the same issue of the journal, providing additional context and opinion regarding its implications, or may deal with a separate topic of interest to the journal’s readers or editors. In the past, it was common for authors of medical journal editorials not to be identified, as is still the usual practice for newspaper editorials. This ...Less

Two major criteria are central to the evaluation of manuscripts submitted for publication: importance and quality. Importance involves an assessment of whether the work • Represents a scientific advance (recognizing that individual articles usually convey only small advances)• Has clinical relevance (if the journal is to be read and the information used by practicing clinicians)• Presents new information• Will be of interest to readersAn additional component of importance is editorial priority, a composite judgment made by the editor regarding the value of a particular submission relative to other submissions under evaluation at the same time, weighed in the context of ...Less

Occasionally, references may include citation of audiotapes, videotapes, or DVDs. The form for such references is as follows: 1. Moyers B. On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying [videotape]. New York, NY: Thirteen/WNET; 2000.2. Ayers S. Terrorism: Medical Response [DVD]. Edgartown, MA: Emergency Film Group; 2002.3. Acland RD. Acland’s DVD Atlas of Human Anatomy [DVD]. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2003.Note that the place of the author may be held by the host and the place of the publisher may be held by the distributor.For citation format for books on CD, see , Electronic References, Books and Books on ...Less