The Measurement of Morbidity

I N the life of man it might be said that the achievement of the fifth birthday marks a tentative step towards adult emancipation. In the life of a journal, however, 5 years must be accounted but a short time-especially when seen, as in our own case, against the long history of our progenitors. But it must be explained that this issue of the Journal sees the start of a new stage in its history. Our three Founding Societies very wisely decided that during our fifth year we should give an account of ourselves before we embarked on a permanent course. This has been done and the decision has been taken that the Scottish Medical Journal is permanently established. We might, with becoming modesty, suggest that this was an easy decision to take for in its short period of publication the Journal has come to take an important part in the Scottish medical scene. The policy of the Journal remains unchanged. In our first editorial, in January 1956, we said that we would 'welcome articles of merit on any aspect of medical science' and this must continue to be our aim. We believe that there are many societies of a national character which should find the pages of the Journal a natural platform on which to display their scientific achievements. For this reason we welcome particularly the desires of the Scottish Society for Experimental Medicine and the Scottish Society of Physicians to become more closely involved in the production of the Journal. Not the least important effect of the Journal has been the closer linkage which it has fostered between the four Scottish centres of medical education. We are sure that even more can be done to co-ordinate medical activities in Scotland, and we hope that we may continue to take a part in encouraging this. GLASGOW JANUARY 1961 SCOTTISH MEDICAL JOURNAL Scot. med, J., 1961, 6:31