 Authors Guidelines
The Lebanese Medical Journal (LMJ) publishes peerreviewed
articles on all aspects of medicine and related fields.
Authors are invited to submit original research articles (either
clinical or experimental), review articles, case reports and letters
to the editor.
As the official journal of the Scientific Committee
of the Order of Physicians in Lebanon, LMJ may publish
abstracts of reports presented at annual scientific sessions
of Scientific Societies and may, from time to time, publish expanded
abstracts as short papers comprising the proceedings of
annual meetings.
All manuscripts will be sent for peer evaluation. However,
the decision regarding acceptance for publication will be made
by the editorial board. If a manuscript is accepted for publication,
it will be necessary for the authors to transfer copyright.
The assignment of copyright must accompany each manuscript
submitted to the Lebanese Medical Journal. No part of
the published material may be reproduced elsewhere without
written permission from the publisher or the Order of Physicians.
AUTHORSHIP
All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship.
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the
work to take public responsibility for the contents. Partial contribution
to the work is not accepted for authorship, but may
be recognized separately in the “Acknowledgments.” Editors
may require authors to justify the assignment of authorship.
The cover letter includes: (A) Statement on authorship responsibility
and (B) Statement on financial disclosure and
(C) Statement on copyright transfer. Each of those three statements
must be signed by all of the authors.
A- Authorship responsibility
“I certify that I have participarted in the conception and design
of this work and the analysis of the data (when applicable),
as well as the writing of the manuscript, to take public
responsibility for it. I believe the manuscript represents valid
work. I have reviewed the final version of the submitted manuscript
and approve it for publication. Neither this manuscript
nor one with substantially similar contents under my authorship
has been published or is being considered for publication
elsewhere, except as described in an attachment. If requested,
I shall produce the data upon which the manuscript is based for
examination by the editors or their assignees.”
B - Financial disclosure
“I certify that any affiliation with or involvement in any organization
or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject
matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (e. g. employment,
consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert
testimony) are discussed below.”
C - Copyright transfer
“The author(s) undersigned hereby transfer(s), assign(s) or
otherwise convey(s) all copyright ownership to the Order of
Physicians in Lebanon in the event that such work is published
by the Order of Physicians in Lebanon.”
MANUSCRIPTS
Manuscripts should be submitted in triplicate to :
Editor in Chief
Lebanese Medical Journal
Order of Physicians in Lebanon
Autostrade Tawita
Furn el-Shebbak
Beirut
LEBANON
Manuscripts should be typed doubled-spaced on the recto of
21 x 27.9 cm white paper with margins of at least 2.5 cm with
no more than 28 lines of 67 characters each per page. They are received with the understanding that they have not been previously
published and are not currently under consideration for
publication in any other journal. Manuscripts will be acknowledged
upon receipt. Manuscript pages should be numbered
starting with page one on the title page and including all pages
of references, tables and figure legends. Final accepted version
may be submitted as electronic files (preferably using
Microsoft Word, Excel software).
 For electronic submission, click here
PAGE LIMITATIONS
Full manuscripts (original articles and reviews) should be
limited to 5000 words (about 14 double-spaced typed pages)
plus abstracts, references and a maximum of eight figures
and/or tables.
Case reports should be limited to 2500 words (about 7 double-
spaced typed pages) and should include an introduction,
case description, discussion, limit of 15 references and one (1)
table or figure.
Letters to the editor should be limited to 1500 words,
5 references and one (1) table or figure.
Each section should be typed on a separate page.
TITLE PAGE
In addition to the title, the full names, degrees and hospital
or university affiliation of each author should be included. If
an author’s present affiliation is different from that under
which the work was done, both should be given. A short title
of no more than 50 characters for use as a running head should
also be given. At the bottom of the title page, include the exact
postal address and the telephone number of the author to whom
communications, proofs and requests for reprints should be
sent. Authors should include a fax number and an e-mail address
(if available) where they can be reached.
ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS
An abstract in English and French of 100 to 200 words for
articles (including reviews) or expanded abstracts, should be
typed double-spaced on a separate page. It should cover the
main factual points, including statements of the problem,
methods, results, and conclusions. The abstract should be accompanied
by a list of three to five key words for indexing
purposes.
TEXT
Appropriate headings and subheadings should be provided
in the methods, results, and discussion sections.
The text should be clear and concise. Since the readership
of LMJ spans many disciplines, jargon should be avoided, as it
may not be familiar to some readers. Likewise, acronyms such
as ECG, LVH, can be used if they are spelled out in full when
first cited. Only measurements are abbreviated without expansion
and should follow the form recommended by the International
Committee of Medical Journal Editors [1]. Suppliers of
specific instruments or drugs should be noted, citing both the
company name and city. Generic names should be given in parentheses
following any trademark drug names.
REFERENCES
References should be limited to articles mentioned in the
text and indicated by numbers ; the latter should follow the
order of appearance of articles in the text. Abstracts should
be identified as such in the reference list.
References should follow the norms established by the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
For journals :
- Names and initials of first names (capital letters). Names of
all authors when six or fewer should be cited. In excess of
six, only names of the first three authors should be reported followed
by the term “et al.”
- Title of the article in its original language
- Name of the Journal according to its abbreviation in the
Index Medicus ; if it is not present in the International Committee
of Medical Journal Editors or Index Medicus, the name
should be mentioned in full.
- Year
- Semi colon (;)
- Volume
- Colon (:)
- First and last page of the article
Example : You CH, Lee KY, Chey RY, Menguy R. Electrogastrographic
study of patients with unexplained nausea, bloating
and vomiting. Gastroenterology 1980 ; 79 : 311-4.
For books :
• Chapter in a book :
- Last name and initials of first names (capital letters) of the
chapter’s authors
- Chapter title
- Followed by : In : “Last name and initials of first names of
the book authors” (editors)
- Book title in the original language
- Edition number (if there is one)
- Publication city
- Colon (:)
- Name of publishers
- Comma (,)
- Year of publication
- Colon (:)
- Inclusive pages
Example : Silen W. Acute Appendicitis. In : Wilson, Braunwald,
Isselbacher, editors. Harrison’s Principles of Internal
Medicine, 12th edition. New York : McGraw-Hill, 1991 :
1298-9.
• A book :
- Last name and initials of first names of authors (editors)
- Colon (:)
- Book title in original language
- Edition number (if there is one)
- Publication city
- Colon (:)
- Name of publishers
- Comma (,)
- Year of publication
Example : Rourke MF, Kelly R, Aviolo A : The Arterial
Pulse, Philadelphia : Lea & Febiger, 1992.
TABLES
Tables should be typed double-spaced on separate sheets of
21 x 27.9 cm paper. Oversized paper should not be used unless
absolutely necessary. Each table must have a title.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Each illustration or graph, numbered as in the text, should
be accompanied by a title and a legend. All legends should be
present on the same paper. Do not type the title legend on the
illustration. The name of the author and the number of the
illustrations and the mention “UP” should be mentioned on a
paper, pasted on the back of each illustration.
Illustrations should be professional, in black and white.
Slides and radiologic films should be converted to photographic
pictures. For color illustrations, printing fees are paid for by
the authors.
Any illustration from previous works should be accompanied
by the written permission of both the author and editor
and this should be mentioned in the legend.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Names of individuals or institutions who have partly contributed
to the work may be mentioned in this section. Pharmaceutical
companies should be acknowledged only if they
provided experimental drugs or drugs not present in the country
where the work was done. Authors are responsible for obtaining
written permission from all individuals or institutions
who participated in the work and who are named in
an acknowledgment, if applicable, since readers may infer
their endorsement of data and conclusions. The corresponding
author must include the following statement in the
cover letter : “I have obtained written permission from all
persons named in the Acknowledgments.”
Funding and support for research projects should be included
in the acknowledgments section.
CASE DESCRIPTION AND PHOTOGRAPHS
In case reports, a written statement of consent from patients
(parents or legal guardians for minors) should be obtained
whenever the patients are identified or photographs are published.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the Editor are considered for publication (subject
to editing and abridgement) provided they do not contain material
that has been submitted or published elsewhere. They
should not be signed by more than three authors.
MANUSCRIPT CHECKLIST
1. Include original manuscript and two photocopies.
2. Include in the cover letter statements – signed by each
author – on (A) authorship responsibility, (B) financial
disclosure, and (C) copyright transfer.
3. Include statement signed by corresponding author that
written permission has been obtained from all persons
named in the Acknowledgments.
4. Leave right margins unjustified (ragged).
5. Use double space throughout, including title page, abstract,
text, acknowledgments, references, legends for
illustrations and tables. Start each of these sections on a
new page, numbered consecutively in the upper righthand
corner, beginning in the title page.
6. Check all references for accuracy and completeness. Put
references in proper format in numerical order, making
sure each is cited in the text.
7. Send three sets of all illustrations.
8. Provide and label an abstract.
9. Include complete consent forms for identifiable patient
descriptions and photographs.
10. Include research or project support and funding in an
acknowledgment.
11. Include written permission from publishers and authors
to reproduce or adapt previously published illustrations
and tables.
12. Designate a corresponding author and provide a complete
address and telephone or fax numbers or e-mail.
Note: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals.
Ann Intern Med 1997 ; 126 : 36-47.
Manuscripts will be returned to the authors
if they do not comply with instructions
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