Author Guidelines
APALM accepts only electronic submission of manuscripts. Registration and login are required to submit manuscript online and to check the status of current submissions.
APALM follows the Authorship Criteria as set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org) as part of their Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.
Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article.
TYPES OF ARTICLES
a. Original Articles: The research discussed in Original Articles must receive institutional review board approval and this approval must be stated in the Materials and Methods section. The body text should have the following subheadings: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. Up to 2500 words excluding references (up to 30) and abstract.
b. Review articles: Review articles, solicited and unsolicited, are actively encouraged and should be composed of systematic, critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to diagnostic topics. All articles and data sources reviewed should include information about the speciï¬c type of study or analysis. Up to 4000 words excluding references (up to 50) and abstract.
c. Case Reports: Report of a single case or a small series (up to 6 cases) with unique content and exceptional clarity. The case should be one that is highly unusual, very unique, underreported in the literature and. The body text should have the following subheadings: Introduction, Case Report(s), Discussion /Conclusion. Up to 1500 words excluding references (up to 15) and abstract.
d. Editorial: Recognized leaders in the field of pathology and laboratory medicine may offer their opinions regarding an article or a group of related papers appearing in the same issue of the journal. Editorials are usually by invitation of the Editor or the members of editorial board but may also include the unsolicited analysis of new trends in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine or the author's perspective on articles recently published in APALM or in another journal.
e. Letters to the Editor: Commentaries in response to a recently published article, or focused, timely communications of immediate interest to the readership. Letters should be limited to 500 words or fewer and to no more than 5 pertinent references. An abstract is not required.
f. Images in pathology, hematology, cytopathology, histopathology or medical microbiology: a short history, photograph, differential diagnosis, and short discussion of classic and/or rare case. Abstract is not required. Text should be a running text with brief report and short discussion. Words limit is up to 500 words. Only 5 latest references are permitted.
g. Students' corner and residents' corner: Short narrative of a real life experience in medical field during student life or residency with a clear informative, educative, or enlightening message. Words limit is up to 500 words.
h. Book Review: The journal seeks reviews that assess a book’s strengths and weaknesses. A review should not simply be a listing of contents, though its overall organization and emphasis are up to the individual reviewer. Reviewers should avoid lists of minor imperfections (e.g., misplaced commas) but should not hesitate to draw attention to serious editorial problems and errors of fact or interpretation. It is also helpful if reviewers indicate for which audiences and libraries the book seems appropriate. Each review should be preceded by a heading listing the book to be reviewed, number of pages and figures, publisher, year of publication, price (if available), and ISBN. Book reviews should have a target word count of 800-1000 words.
SUBMISSION
Manuscripts must be submitted by one of the authors of the manuscript, and should not be submitted by anyone else on their behalf. The submitting author takes responsibility for the article during submission and peer review. It is also the author’s responsibility to ensure that article emanatory from a particular institution and is submitted with approval of necessary institution. Prior to submitting a manuscript, submitting authors should collect electronic files for the manuscript file (including figures & tables), and Cover letter with Title page.
i. Cover Letter & Title Page
All manuscripts must be accompanied by a Cover letter and Title Page (in single word file). Authors are encouraged to describe how the article is rare or unusual as well as its educational and/or scientific merits in the covering letter that will accompany the submission of the manuscript.
Authors are welcomed to suggest two to four reviewers for their paper; however, the editors cannot guarantee assignment of a particular review to a paper. These should be experts in their field, who will be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Any suggested peer reviewers should not be current collaborators, and should not be members of the same research institution.
The TITLE PAGE should have the information in the following format:
- Type of article: (Original article, case report, letter to editor, etc.)
- Title of article: Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
- Running (short) title (< 50 characters )
- Author names and affiliations: The title page should include the names, email addresses and full affiliation address of author(s). Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name.
- Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.
ii. MANUSCRIPT FILE
Manuscripts must be submitted in Word (.doc or .docx) file format. Articles should be typed in 12 pt (Times New Roman), double spaced throughout with margins of 2.5 cm, and pages must be numbered. Define abbreviations at first mention in the text and in each table and figure. When using acronyms, make certain the full name is spelled out on first use. Manuscripts must be in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/). The editorial board reserves the right to edit the submitted manuscripts in order to comply with the journal’s style. In any case, the authors are responsible for the published material.
The constituents of a manuscript file should be presented in the following order:
- Title of Manuscript
- Abstract
- Key words
- Main text
- Abbreviations and Symbols
- Acknowledgment
- Declarations
- References
- Figure with Figure Legends
- Tables
- Statement of Informed Consent
- Statement of Human and Animal Rights
these constituents of a model manuscript are described below:
1. Title of Manuscript
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. Do not write the authors' name on main manuscript file.
2. Abstract
Abstract must be typed on a separate page following the title page. Abstracts are required for all papers except Letters to the Editor, editorials and images. Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words. Do not cite references in the abstract. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided in the abstract, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. Do not list anything in the abstract that is not there in the manuscript. Abstract for Original articles should be structured in four sections: background, methods, result and conclusion. Abstract for review article, case series, and case report, may be structured or unstructured as appropriate for the sections of the paper.
3. Key words
The authors should list 4 to 6 key words or phrases taken from Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). These key words should be representative of your article and are used for indexing services and other search facilities for published material.
4. Main text
Separate pages should be used for the remaining sections of the text. APALM can only accept manuscripts written in English. Spelling should be US English or British English, but not a mixture. Original articles should be organized in four main headings: introduction, material and method, results, and discussion/conclusion. Case report(s) should include the following identifiable sections: introduction, case report(s), and discussion/conclusion. Subheadings or subdivisions of the main headings may be used for clarification in larger and more detailed articles, but should be limited to key aspects.
5. Abbreviations and Symbols
Use only standard abbreviations. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text.
6. Acknowledgment
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing assistance and departmental head that only provided general support. Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge from all those mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.
7. Declarations
This information must also be inserted into your manuscript under the acknowledgements section with the headings below. If you have no declaration to make please insert the following statements into your manuscript:
- Funding: None
- Competing interests: None declared
8. References:
The author(s) are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Each reference should be numbered and listed according to their order in the text (do not alphabetize). They should be referred to Arabic numerals in superscript with square bracket after the punctuation marks. Please avoid excessive referencing. Avoid citing text book references and very old references. This reduces the credibility of the article.
References should be arranged according to the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" rules developed by "International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)". Some examples have been provided for frequently used reference types. The www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html site should be used for guidance on other types of references not provided here. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus. Refer to the "List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus" for abbreviations of journal names, or access the list at www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html . Use complete name of the journal for non-indexed journals. Abbreviations are not used for journals not in the Index Medicus. All authors should be quoted for papers with up to six authors; for papers with more than six authors, the first three should be quoted followed by et al.
Sample references are given below:
a. Article in journal: Author(s) name (more than 6 names use et al). Title of article. Abbreviation of title of journal Year; Volume: Page.
Example: Goyal P, Sehgal S, Agarwal R, et al. Ossifying fibromyxoid tumor - Diagnostic challenge for a cytopathologist. Cytojournal. 2012;9:17.
b. In press article: Author(s) name (more than 6 names use et al). Title of article. Abbreviation of title of journal, in press.
Example: Kumar A, Goyal P, Seghal S, et al. Giant immature teratoma of ovary with gliomatosis peritonei in 15 year-old girl: a case report and literature review. J Gynecol Surg. in press.
c. Chapter of book: Author(s) name. Chapter. In: Editor(s) name. Book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year: Page.
Example: Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. 93-113.
d. Book: Author(s) name. Book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year.
Example: Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
9. Figure with Figure Legends
All figures (illustrations, images, or photographs; only in JPEG format) should be numbered sequentially in the text with Arabic numbers (i.e., Fig 2, Figs 2, 4–6) and should be referred to in parentheses within the text. During submission of an article, authors should include all figures in the main body of the manuscript in word file format. Figures should not be submitted in separate files. Writing any text on the figures should be avoided as much as possible.
A short detailed legend (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) should be provided for each ï¬gure. Stains and magniï¬cations should be speciï¬ed for all photomicrographs.
Authors should avoid descriptive information such as patient names, initials, reference numbers or photographs in their article. Authors should mask patients' eyes and remove patients' names from figures. The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.
If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.
10. Tables
Each table must be typed double-spaced on a separate page following the references. Smaller spacing and font may be used within tables. Do not justify the text. Tables should be kept to a necessary minimum, and their information should not duplicated in the text. Each table should be numbered and cited in sequence using Arabic numerals (i.e. Table 1, 2, 3 etc.). Each table must include appropriate headings and Footnotes. Abbreviations/acronyms used in a table must be defined in a footnote below the table. Units of measurement must be clearly indicated.
11. Statement of Informed Consent
Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should identify Individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance.
Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note.
12. Statement of Human and Animal Rights
When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should be asked to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.
Authors should strictly use the templates downloaded from the following links only to maintain the standardized manuscriptformat:
DOWNLOADABLE TEMPLATES: