Joining Hands

Editorial Joining Hands This issue marks the first major expansion of the scope and content of The Journal of Hand Surgery in nearly 30 years. Review and Technique articles, which were previously published in The Journal of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, are now merged into this publication; along with occasional Clinical Symposium and Instructional Course articles, they will constitute approximately 20 to 25% of the contents on a regular basis. The Journal will increase to 10 issues per year and be highlighted by the use of unlimited color illustrations. Inclusion of Review and Technique articles will undoubtedly suggest a return to yesteryear for those readers old enough to recollect the initial publication of this journal. Volume I of The Journal of Hand Surgery, a rather modest medical periodical by today’s standards, consisted of three issues and 25 published articles. Of note, 15 of the 25 were review articles and only 10 were scientific studies; an additional scientific study was in fact listed in the Table of Contents, but did not make it into print until the following year. All but two of the 54 authors contributing to Volume I were from North America; of the 239 scientific pages, only two featured color illustrations. Over the ensuing 29 years, the Journal has focused predominantly on peer-reviewed scientific studies; these have served it well. The Journal’s recognition as a major scientific publication was established in 1980 with its inclusion in the annual Journal Citation Reports, which determines those journals that are to be recognized as PubMed citations by the National Library of Medicine. Its pre-eminence in the field of hand surgery is evident in the annual impact factor, which regularly outpaces those of every other journal devoted exclusively to surgery of the hand, and manuscripts from international authors now make up nearly 50% of the submissions. It is our firm belief that the addition of the Review and Technique articles, the expansion to 10 issues per year, and the use of unlimited color illustrations will aptly supplement the peer-reviewed contents of the Journal and greatly enhance its role in the continuing education of hand surgeons. We trust readers will share our enthusiasm for this ongoing educational venture as we endeavor to bring to the hand surgery community all the important hand surgery information in a single publication. Paul Manske, MD Arnold-Peter C. Weiss, MD Copyright © 2006 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand doi:10.1016/j.jhsa.2005.12.007

The Journal of Hand Surgery

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