Editorial: SI units and problems of communication.

These are difficult times for medical publishing. The number of papers of good quality increases every year and authors rightly demand that the latent period between submission and publication should be as short as possible, and this has led to experimentation with new methods of publication. At the same time there is a feeling that 'the literature' is already too vast to be encompassed even by a well-stocked library. Serious workers must prefer not to waste time on evanescent material which has not passed the (voluntary) scrutiny of referees and editor, and will accept a measure of delay for this reason. Some authors nevertheless feel that the date of submission should be printed when a paper is published. We are not convinced by the arguments for such a dating which can lead to premature submission of ill-prepared work and takes no account of production problems. The Editorial Committee has, however, decided to record the date of acceptance. The need after acceptance for revision of badly prepared typescripts or figures leads inevitably to delays in publication, and it is in the author's interest to ensure before submission that the requirements and suggestions given in our Instructions to Authors are met. Nevertheless, it is our wish to reduce publication delay to a minimum and, if possible, to find room for more contributions. For this reason monthly publication of the Journal was begun in 1974. Sadly, plans for increased pagination had to be temporarily postponed because of rapidly increasing costs. More papers will be published if authors cooperate by writing with precision and economy. A full review of 'the literature' with numerous references is rarely necessary. Illustrations should be reduced to a minimum, bearing in mind the sophisticated readership of the Journal, Preparation of tables and figures may cause a slight increase in publication time. Sufficient information must, however, be given to permit repetition of experimental work.