Author Guidelines

MEDICAL JOURNAL publishes original papers, case reports, multi-center trials, editorials, review articles, letters to the Editor, other articles and information concerned with practice and research in medicine, written in the English or Serbian language.

Address for correspondence: Prof. Radisa Vojinovic, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, Medical Journal

Clinical Centre Kragujevac, Zmaj Jovina 30, 34000 Kragujevac, Serbia, Tel.: *381 34 372 169, Fax: *381 34 337 583, e-mail: medicinskicasopis@gmail.com,

Manucripts are prepared in accordance with "Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (N Engl J Med 1991; 324; 424-428). Please consult these instructions and a recent issue of Medical Journal in preparing your manuscript.

Original manuscripts will be accepted with the understanding that they are solely contributed to Medical Journal. Manuscripts, accepted for publication, become the property of the Journal, and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from both the editor and the publisher. The Journal does not publish papers containing material that has been published elsewhere except as an abstract of 400 words or less; previous publication in abstract form must be disclosed in a footnote. Submitted articles are subject to independent, anonymous peer-review.

Manuscript

Manuscripts are submitted electronically through the ASEESTANT (SouthEast European Journals Production Assistant) system approaching it by the link http://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/mckg/login and only exceptionally by e-mail address of the journal. The manuscript should be prepared in English, as a text file in the format of Word for Windows, sized A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm), double-spaced (including references and tables, figure legends and footnotes) and with margins of 2.5 cm. Complex graphical illustrations (graphs, pictures) can be attached as a separate, additional files.

The manuscript of the original article should be organized in the following sections: title page, abstract, introduction, patients and methods / subjects and methods / material and methods, results, discussion, references, tables, figures, figure legends. The structure of the body text of other types of manuscripts (reviews, case reports, seminars, etc.) is formed as applicable. Each manuscript component (title page, etc.) begins on a separate page. All pages are numbered consecutively beginning with the title page.

Manuscript volume. The complete manuscript, which includes title page, short abstract, text of the article, literature, all figures and permisions for them and legends (tables, images, graphs, diagrams, drawings), title page and abstract in English, can have the length up to 5000 words for original paper, report, paper on the history of medicine and literature overview, while for patient presentation, practice paper, educative article it can be up to 3000 words, and other papers can be up to 1500 words.

The word count check in a document can be done in Word processor program in submenu Tools Word Count or File Properties Statistics.

All measurements, except blood pressure, are reported in the System International (SI) and, if necessary, in conventional units (in parentheses). Generic names are used for drugs. Brand names may be inserted in parentheses.

Title page

The title page contains the title, full names of all the authors, names and full location of the department and institution where work was performed, acknowledgments, abbreviations used, and name of the corresponding author. The title of the article is concise but informative, and it includes animal species if appropriate. A brief acknowledgment of grants and other assistance, if any, is included. A list of abbreviations used in the paper, if any, is included. List abbreviations alphabetically followed by an explanation of what they stand for. In general, the use of abbreviations is discouraged unless they are essential for improving the readabillity of the text. The name, telephone number, fax number, and exact postal address of the author to whom communications and reprints should be sent, are typed at the lower right corner of the title page.

Abstract page

Abstract contains up to 250 words. Manuscripts with original data (original scientific work, professional work, etc..) have the abstract structured with the following paragraphs: objective, methods, results and conclusion. For other types of papers (review article, literature review, etc.). abstract is provided as a single paragraph. At the end of the abstract at least 3 key words, should be provided, according to the terms set out in the MESH classification.

Introduction page

The introduction is concise, and states the reason and specific purpose or the study.

Patients and methods / Material and methods

The selection of patients or experimental animals, including controls is described. Patients' names and hospital numbers are not used. Methods are described in sufficient detail to permit evaluation and duplication of the work by other investigators. When reporting experiments on human subjects, it should be indicated whether the procedures followed were in accordance with ethical standards of the Committee on human experimentation of the institution in which they were done and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Hazardous procedures or chemicals, if used, are described in detail, including the safety precautions observed. When appropriate, a statement is included verifying that the care of laboratory animals followed the accepted standards. Statistical methods used, are outlined.

Results

Results are clear and concise, and include a minimum number of tables and figures necessary for proper presentation.

Discussion

An exhaustive review of literature is not necessary. The major findings should be discussed in relation to other published works. Attempts should be made to explain differences between results of the present study and those of the others. The hypothesis and speculative statements should be clearly identified. The discussion section should not be a restatement of results, and new results should not be introduced in the discussion.

References

References are identified in the text by Arabic numerals in parentheses. They are numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. Personal communications and unpublished observations are not cited in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text in parentheses. Abbreviations of journals conform to those in PubMed/MEDLINE. The style and punctuation conform to the Medical Journal style requirements. The following are examples:

Article (all authors are listed if there are six or fewer; otherwise only the first three are listed followed by "et al.")

12 - Talley NJ, Zinsmeister AR, Schleck CD, Melton LJ 3rd. Dyspepsia and dyspeptic subgroups: A population-based study. Gastroenterology 1992; 102: 1259-68.

Book

17 - Sherlock S. Diseases of the liver and biliary system. 8th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Sc Publ. 1989.

Chapter or article in a book

24 - Trier JJ. Celiac sprue. In: Sleisenger MH, Fordtran J, eds. Gastro-intestinal disease. 4 th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, 1989: 1134-52.

Data from the Internet

Quote only if necessary as follows: author (if known), the title of the content, the city where the headquarters of the author/owner of the website/content is located, the name of the author / name of the owner of the website/content, the year of creating web pages/content and internet address (in parentheses). Information about the author/owner of the sections should be taken from the contact or other appropriate section. The authors are responsible for the exactness of reference data.

Tables

Tables are typed on separate sheets with figure numbers (Arabic) and title above the table and explanatory notes, if any, below the table.

Figures and figure legends

All illustrations (photographs, graphs, diagrams) are to be considered figures, and are numbered consecutively in the text and figure legend in Arabic numerals. The number of figures included is the least required to convey the message of the paper, and no figure duplicates the data presented in the tables or text. Figures do not have titles. Letters, numerals and symbols must be clear, in proportion to each other, and large enough to be readable when reduced for publication. Figures are submitted as near to their printed size as possible. Figures are reproduced in one of the following width sizes: 8 cm, 12 cm or 17 cm, and with a maximal length of 20 cm. Legends for figures should be given on separate pages. If magnification is significant (photomicrographs), it is indicated by a calibration bar on the print, not by a magnification factor in the figure legend. The length of the bar is indicated on the figure or in the figure legend. Two complete sets of high quality unmounted glossy prints are submitted in two separate envelopes, and shielded by an appropriate cardboard. The backs of single or grouped illustrations (plates) bear the first author's last name, figure number, and an arrow indicating the top. This information is penciled in lightly or placed on a typed self-adhesive label in order to prevent marking the front surface of the illustration. Photographs of identifiable patients are accompanied by written permission from the patient. For figures published previously, the original source is acknowledged, and written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce it is submitted. Color prints are available by request at the author's expense.

Letters to the Editor

Both letters concerning and those not concerning the articles that have been published in Medical Journal will be considered for publication. They may contain one table or figure and up to five references.

Cover letter. The letter signed by all authors must be attached with the manuscript. The letter should consist of: the statement that the paper has not been published previously and that it is not submitted for publication to some other journal, the statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors who fulfill the authorship criteria. Furthermore, authors should attach copies of all permits: for reproduction of previously published materials, for use of illustrations and for publication of information about publicly known persons or naming the people who contributed to the creation of the work.

Note. The paper which does not fulfill the conditions set in this instruction cannot be set to reviewers and will be returned to the authors for amendments and corrections. By following the instructions for writing the papers for Medical Journal, the time needed for the process of publication of papers in the journal will be shortened, which will have positive impact on the quality and regularity of publication of volumes.

Proofs

All manuscripts will be carefully revised by the publisher's desk editor. Only in case of extensive corrections will the manuscript be returned to the authors for final approval. In order to speed up the publication no proof will be sent to the authors but will be read by the editor and the desk editor.