Manuscripts will be peer reviewed by the Editorial Board and, as necessary, outside reviewers. Manuscript acceptance or rejection will be based on suitability, importance, validity, technical accuracy, and presentation of material new in either concept or application. Suitable manuscripts include original studies, review papers, case reports, and technique descriptions, and diagnostic and treatment tips (for the journal’s Tips of the Trade series).

E-PUBLISHING SECTION

The journal has an E-Publishing section (at www.amjorthopedics.com) in order to increase the number of articles published in each issue and lower the time to publication for accepted manuscripts.

Some accepted articles are selected for E-publication, often as part of an E-Focus grouping of papers. This is not a “publish ahead of print” effort. The full text of the paper will be posted on the journal Web site’s E-Focus section and then archived on the site. A listing of the paper appears on the Table of Contents of the corresponding print issue and an abstract, for manuscript types that have an abstract, is published in the print journal as well. E-published articles are assigned E-page numbers, with the same volume and issue number as that month’s print issue. An advantage of E-Publishing in the journal: access to the full text of these articles on the journal’s Web site is not restricted to those who receive the print journal; registration on the site is not required to read these articles, making them available to more users, including international access. The journal reserves the option to select the mode of publication—print or electronic—for each of the manuscripts it accepts.


SPECIFICATIONS

The cover letter should include a full statement about any reports that might be regarded as prior or duplicate publication of the same or very similar work; a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors; and a listing of the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail of the corresponding author, who is responsible for all revisions, final approval of the proofs, and obtaining and submitting all necessary permissions. Authors submitting case reports must also confirm in their cover letter and the text of the manuscript that they have obtained the patients’ written informed consent for print and electronic publication of the report (and for reprinting in foreign editions of the journal)—see Patient Privacy Concerns below. Do not send the signed consent to the journal, but do include a statement to that effect in the cover letter and early in the manuscript itself.

Authors should prepare the manuscript in accordance with the guidelines in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals* provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and found at www.icmje.org—especially in regard to ethical considerations. Some particular concerns—authorship, permissions, patient privacy, and study design—are addressed in individual sections below.

The title page of the manuscript should contain the full name(s) of the author (s) with degrees. There should also be a brief footnote for each author showing academic or professional titles, affiliations, and any other credits.

Length: Manuscripts should not exceed 5000 words, excluding References, Tables, and Figure captions. Abstracts should be less than 200 words.


AUTHORSHIP AND CONTRIBUTORSHIP

All persons who are to be listed as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who merit authorship credit should be listed. Please consult the section on authorship and contributorship in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (available on the Web—see information below, The Uniform Requirements*). See also Acknowledgments, below.


CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST STATEMENT

In accordance with the Uniform Requirements, authors are responsible for disclosing financial and other conflicts of interest that might bias their work. They should state explicitly in the manuscript “whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.” The journal asks that authors also disclose this information in their cover letter.


PERMISSIONS

Permission to reproduce previously published or otherwise copyrighted material must be included with the manuscript and must be for print and electronic publication (including posting on the journal’s Website and in CD-ROMs. Authors should also request that the permission extend to reprinting the article in other formats, such as compilations, and in foreign editions. The journal currently has an edition published in English in India and an edition published in Spanish in Mexico.The journal recommends that authors avoid the use of previously copyrighted material whenever possible.


PATIENT PRIVACY CONCERNS

It is one of the authors’ responsibilities to assure patients’ privacy.

Authors of case reports must attest in their cover letter and in the text of the manuscript that they have obtained the written informed consent of the subject(s) of the report (or the subject’s guardian) for the print and electronic publication (and reprinting in foreign editions)—of the text and any additional components, such as photographs or scans. Photos, in particular, need to be cropped optimally to protect anonymity and require the informed consent of the patient or the patient’s guardian. For the patient’s consent to be considered informed, the patient must have been given the opportunity to see the manuscript, including any additional components. Authors are asked to archive the permission with their own files for the manuscript.

For all manuscript types, permissions to use illustrations that may identify human subjects must be submitted. (See also Illustrations, below.) Privacy concerns are not restricted to illustrations. The section, Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy, in the Uniform Requirements* notes that: “Patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that an identifiable patient be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should disclose to these patients whether any potential identifiable material might be available via the Internet as well as in print after publication. Patient consent should be written and archived…. Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance, and editors should so note, that such alterations do not distort scientific meaning.”

[This statement reflects the October 2008 update of the guidelines.*] It is this journal’s policy that, for the patient’s consent to be considered informed, the patient must have been given the opportunity to see the manuscript, including any additional components. Permission must be for print and electronic publication.

STUDY DESIGN

Details about randomization should be provided. Methods for and success of any blinding of observations should be described. Treatment complications should be reported. Numbers of observations and losses to observations should be delineated. Drugs should be identified by generic name. General descriptions of methods should appear in the Methods section.

Authors of manuscripts that report a study involving human subjects must have obtained the appropriate IRB or ethics committee approval and specify that in the Methods section. Authors should also indicate whether and how informed consent from the participating subjects was obtained or, if the IRB or ethics committee waived the requirement for informed consent, should note the rationale for the waiver.

For manuscripts that report a study involving animals, authors should describe the animal care and use approvals or waivers that were obtained.


ILLUSTRATIONS

Each illustration should have complete identification and be numbered to properly coordinate with the accompanying legend. Illustrations are accepted as color or black-and-white photographs or as professionally drawn schema. For the best quality of reproduction, illustrations should show sharp contrasts. For any illustration that has been copyrighted by an entity other than the authors, authors must obtain written permission for print and electronic use of the illustration in the manuscript and include the requested source credit statement in the caption for the illustration. If photographs of persons are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or the author must have obtained written permission from the patient or the legal guardian to use the photograph for print and electronic publication. Do not submit scans or other materials (including charts, photos, and tables) that have identifying information such as patients’ initials, birth dates, hospital numbers, or other identifying numbers—these must be removed before submitting the materials to the journal. See section, Patient Privacy Concerns, above. Photomicrographs must have internal scale markers. Symbols (if any) should be clear and even throughout and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication, each item will still be legible. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.


Technical Specificaitons

Please use a JPEG, TIFF, or EPS format and ensure that the files are created and saved at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI) or higher.


LEGENDS

When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in the photomicrographs.


ABSTRACT

Each manuscript, with the exception of case reports, should include key words and an unstructured abstract of about less than 200 words. The abstract should summarize the paper.


REFERENCES

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text, should be double-spaced, and should follow AMA style. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the references. Authors should avoid using abstracts as references. “Unpublished observations” and “personal communications” may not be used as references; if cited, a letter (from the person quoted) granting permission must be obtained to be faxed to the editorial offices after the manuscript is accepted.


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Persons who contributed intellectually to the paper, but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named at the end of the paper, immediately preceding the reference list.


TABLES

Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper. Tables should be double-spaced, numbered consecutively, and properly identified with a title, headings, and subheads. Each table should be cited in the text at least once. Tables should not duplicate material that appears in the text.


EDITING

Manuscripts may be modified editorially so as to bring them into conformity with the style of The American Journal of Orthopedics^®. Edited galley proofs will be sent to the corresponding author prior to publication. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy editor and authorized by the corresponding author.


REPRINTS

Order forms for reprints, which are available at a nominal cost, may be requested. The forms are sent to authors with galley proofs. Reprints can also be ordered on the journal's Web site, www.amjorthopedics.com (look for Reprints on the menu at left on the home page). Reprints must be ordered in quantities of 100 or more.


INDEXING

The American Journal of Orthopedics^® appears in Index Medicus/Med line.


*THE UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS

These requirements are in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [ICMJE]). The Uniform Requirements are also posted and updated on the Web at www.icmje.org. Any statements from the Uniform Requirement that are quoted here are specific to the 2008 update, and authors should always refer to the ICMJE Web site for the most current update.