Information For Authors
MEDICINA nei SECOLI- Journal of History of Medicine and Medical Humanities publishes original research papers, critical reviews and short communications devoted to all aspects of History of Medicine and Biomedicine, of History of Healthcare and health-professions, History of Bioethics and Medical HUmanities. Manuscripts are submitted with the understanding that upon publication copyright will be transferred to the Journal.
The articles must prove to have been conducted through a rigorous historical research methodology and must not have been published elsewhere nor have been submitted to any other journal.
Ethics in Publishing
Please note that MnS follows and adopts the main International Ethical Guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. MnS follows the ICMJE recommendations. The full text of ICMJE recommendations is available at this link: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Submitting an article for publication in MnS implies that the authors read the above-mentioned guidelines and principles and agreed with them.
Duties of authors
Submission declaration
The authors must ensure and declare that the material presented in the submitted paper has not been previously reported in any other published paper nor it is under consideration for publication elsewhere. All the submitted papers should be accurately prepared and should contain proper reference and quotations of the studies that influenced the work.
Authorship
The copyright of any article is retained by the author(s). The author/s declare/s that the authorship is limited to the authors that gave substantial contributions to the conception, design or drafting of the study, to the acquisition/analysis/interpretation of data, to the final revision or final approval of the version to be submitted. All authors approved the revisions as well as the final version of the papers. The Corresponding Author is responsible for the compliance with the Journal authorship policy as well as for the final version for publication to be approved.
Animal and human rights
When a submitted paper contains material involving the use of animal or human subjects, the Author/s must present a written declaration that affirms that the work was carried out in conformity with the laws of Italy and, if any, with the consent of institutional committees. For papers involving human subjects, the evidence of informed consent is strictly required.
Research Misconduct
According to the Journal policy, plagiarism and/or fraudulent conduct are seen as serious unethical behavior. For the sake of clarity, in these cases the Editorial Board has the right to take all necessary actions.
Possible cases of Research Misconduct (i.e. the eventuality that those who carry out, finance or evaluate the scientific research or the institutions promoting and implementing it perpetuate the violation of ethical principles, ethical values, ethical duties or professional standards which a responsible and correct conduct is based on,) will result in the immediate rejection of the submitted paper.
Conflict of interest
The authors should also declare, according to the ICMJE conflict of interest statement, that they have no direct or indirect (financial or non-financial) conflict of interest related to the paper. Otherwise, if any conflict of interest exists, the authors should report it. Any source of financial support should be disclosed by the author/s.
If there is no conflict of interest, then please state: “The author/s declare/s that there is no conflict of interest regarding the article and its publication”. Financial support for research must be declared in the Covering letter/Author Statements/Conflict of Interest Form, can be donwload here. It must be filled out and sent via e-mail together with the submitted article.
Corrections
If the Author discovers an error or inaccuracy in the work, he/she has the duty to promptly inform the Editorial Board, in order to let it take all necessary actions.
MnS will publish the corrections and retractions pointed out by the Corresponding Author as quickly as possible.
Submission
All papers should be submitted via e-mail to the following address: medicinaneisecoli@uniroma1.it
For further information, please contact the Editor:
Valentina Gazzaniga, Editor, MnS
History of Medicine and Bioethics Unit
Viale dell’Università 34/a
00185 Rome
valentina.gazzaniga@uniroma1.it
Title and Summary page
The main text of the submitted papers should not include identifying author information. A separate title and summary page should contain what follows in this order:
1. Title
2. Author/s (Name and Surname).
3. Institutional affiliation
4. Brief Summary (max. 150 words) and a short Summary title (in English)
5. Running title (in the same language of the paper)
6. Keywords (2-4, in English, descriptive of the study)
7. Acknowledgements (list here those individuals who provided help in editing the language, in writing assistance or proof reading)
8. Address for correspondence (please clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of referrals and publication, ensuring that the e-mail address is up-to-date)
9. When available, please include ORCID identifiers
10. At the Author’s discretion, names and institutional addresses of potential referees
Covering letter, Author Statements and Conflict of Interest form
Papers must be accompanied by a covering letter aimed to explain the reasons why the author/s believe/s the article to be suitable for MnS publication, and by the Author Statements Form, which includes the Conflict of interest declaration. A complete form, including a covering letter form, to be filled out and signed by all the authors, is available on the website: www.medicinaneisecoli.it in the Section ‘Information for Authors’. Please ensure to include the filled form to the submitted paper.
All correspondence, notification of the Editor’s decision and request for revisions, will be sent via e-mail to the Corresponding Author.
Main Text
The main text and body generally should not exceed 12,000 characters, including letters and spaces. Papers should be written in a Mac OS X (or later versions) compatible format, Times New Roman font, 12-point, standard page, default margins, single-spaced. The text may be divided in subheadings. Reference and notes must be included at the end of the text and be numbered by progressive Arabic numerals. In the text, only shorter references to critical editions, to primary sources or to manuscripts may be included (i.e., Nat. Hom., Li. 6.64 as a reference to the Hippocratic treatise De natura hominis, edited by Littré, vol. 6, p.64). The Editorial Office has the right to modify the text according to the style of the Journal.
Bibliography, references and notes
MnS uses endnotes (not footnotes). A general bibliography may precede the references and notes. Notes and references must be separated and numbered in the same successive order by Arabic numerals as they appear in the text. Authors are solely responsible for the accuracy of citations. Please be sure that every reference cited in the text is present in the Bibliography, references and notes section too. In the Bibliography, references and notes section use Times New Roman, 10-point font. Please find a short example of the MnS citations system at www.medicinaneisecoli.it, under the section Instructions for Authors.
Examples for References:
Journal article
Journal titles shall be abbreviated according to the list of journals indexed in MEDLINE or PubMed Journals databases. For non-NLM (National Library of Medicine) journals please see the list of additional sources here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7253/ . Do not abbreviate journal titles that consist of a single word or titles written in a character-based language. Do not include journal subtitles as part of the abbreviated title and omit any punctuation. All authors should be listed.
Ex: Rossi A, Neri O, Claude Bernard ed i nosologisti. Med. Secoli 1993;5(1):75-87.
For a second citation of the same source, please use a shorter form: if immediately following, use Ibid.; if other endnotes are found between the two, please use the following example: Rossi A, Neri O, ref. 12, p. 18.
Books
Rossi A, History of Medicine. Rome: Delfino; 1990. (when needed) 12-25 pp.
Chapters in Books:
Neri G, Hippocrates. In: Rossi A, editor. History of Medicine. Rome: Delfino; 1990. pp. 12-25.
Primary sources
Primary sources, if disposable, should be quoted in a critical edition, after the general bibliography and before the notes and references.
Papers
Name of the Institution owing the ms, shelf mark, Title, page or folio.
Web Resources and Online Materials
Web materials should be cited with their official URL and with all the available information. Access date in brackets shall be included as well. Access date is important as websites can be updated and URLs can change: (Accessed 10 October 2014).
Starting with 2018 issues, MnS will follow NLM citation style. For further information, please consult Patrias K, author; Wendling D, editor. Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers [Internet]. 2nd edition. Bethesda (MD), National Library of Medicine (US); 2007-. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/
Language
Contributions in English language are strongly recommended, however papers in Italian and French will also be considered for publication. Language editing is requested before the submission (please use UK English spelling).
Unicode fonts and Non- Roman Scripts
If a submitted article contains non-Roman scripts (i.e., Greek), please submit a pdf version file of the text.
Figures
In each article up to a maximum of six images in b/w is allowed. All figures must be cited consecutively in the text. Figures should be submitted as separate file in .tif or .jpg format. Their resolution should be at least 500 dpi. Figures files should be numbered as follows: Fig. 1. Please indicate in the text the exact position where they have to be inserted (Fig. 1 here).
Please ensure that each figure has a caption. Copyright and/or publishing permission for the images must be provided by the Author(s).
Tables
Please submit tables (up to a max. of six) in a separate page at the end of the article, as editable text and not as images. All tables must be cited consecutively in the text. Tables should be numbered as follows: Tab. 1. Please indicate in the text the exact position where they have to be inserted (Tab. 1 here). Please ensure that each table has a caption.
Before submitting, please check the following list:
- Title and Summary page file
- Main text file
- Covering letter/Author Statements/Conflict of interest Form
- Figures’ file
- Tables file
Peer review and Reviewers’ duties
Papers submitted to MnS are carefully reviewed in the first instance by selected members of the Editorial Staff. Papers that do not meet editorial requirements or lack originality will be rejected. Papers that do not comply with MnS editorial style will be referred back to the Authors for revision prior to any review by the MnS Editorial Assistant Office.
MnS conducts double-blind peer reviews. Papers passing the internal Editorial review will be sent as PDF by e-mail to two independent and anonymous reviewers, chosen among the members of the Editorial Board or among highly qualified specialists in the topics or subject matter of the submitted paper.
Authors can suggest names and institutional addresses of potential referees. Please note that the Editor retains the sole right to decide whether or not the suggested referees will be selected.
Reviewers are asked to consider the originality and scientific rigour of the paper and its relevance for the study of History of Medicine. They will be asked to give suggestions and comments to the Author/s and Editor. Any selected referee must abstain from evaluating papers which he/she has any direct or indirect conflict of interest in. When a referee considers her/himself as unqualified for the topic of the papers, he/she must promptly inform the Editor, which will select another referee.
Referees shall not disclose any information contained in the submitted papers to anyone, with the exception of the Corresponding Author, the Editor and Editorial Board members. Unpublished materials and information contained in a submitted paper must not be used in a referee’s own research or for his/her personal purposes, without the author’s expressed written consent.
The peer-review process will be carried out in an impartial and fair manner. Referees should clearly express their views, supported by scientific and adequate arguments.
If a Referee accepts to assess a submitted article, this involves his/her agreement with MnS reviewer duties declaration.
Reviewers are asked to send their comments within a maximum of 15 days since the date of their acceptance. Reviewers may request to submit again a revised version of the paper before acceptance. The final decision to accept or reject the papers belongs to the Editor.
The Editorial Board will forward the referees’ opinion (accepted, not accepted or accepted with revisions) to the Author/s via e-mail. The journal guarantees the Referees’ identities will be protected.
Occasionally, MnS publishes monographic issues, entrusted to invited Editors that are internationally recognized as scholars of high scientific profile. Selected authors are therefore invited by the Editor to submit papers on specific themes. In these cases, the Editor/s must directly and explicitly certify that all the papers have been carefully reviewed through a peer review process that fully corresponds to MnS standards and criteria (see the Peer review section).
Proof reading
Proofs will be sent by e-mail to the Corresponding Author in PDF format. The Corresponding Author is responsible for carefully checking the proofs and for returning them within no more than 10 days since their reception. Only minor corrections are allowed and substantial alterations to the original paper will not be accepted unless charged to the author. If not returned within ten days after receipt, corrections will be made by the Editorial Office.
Reprints
Reprints will be sent free of charge by e-mail to the Author(s) in PDF format for personal or institutional use.
Editorial Office
Medicina nei Secoli Arte e Scienza – Dept. of Molecular Medicine, History of Medicine and Bioethics Unit, Viale dell'Università 34/a, 00185 Roma, I
Tel 06 49914033
e-mail medicinaneisecoli@uniroma1.it
