Manuscripts should be addressed to: 

Michigan Medical Journal
C5124 Medical Science Building I
1301 Catherine Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-0611.

Categories of Articles

Original Reports present novel findings from original research and should not exceed a limit of 4000 words, 40 references, and up to 6 illustrations or tables. A structured abstract (with the following headings: Objective, Background or Context, Methods, Results, and Conclusions) of not more than 250 words is required. Section headings (e.g. Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions) and subheadings should be provided in the body of the manuscript.

Brief Reports are concise descriptions of original work presenting new findings based on existing techniques or novel applications of established methods. A total length of 2000 words, 20 references and up to 3 illustrations or tables is permitted. Also provide an abstract of up to 150 words. Headings are not required for the abstract. Section headings should be provided in the body of the manuscript.

Extended Abstracts are intended to encourage publication by students who have played a key, but not necessarily leading role in a larger research project and should not exceed 1000 words, 10 references and up to 2 tables or figures. The manuscript should summarize the overall project and focus on the student’s contributions. A signed letter from the project supervisor, who will typically be lead or senior author on the manuscript reporting the overall project, indicating that he or she has read and approves the student’s Extended Abstract manuscript for publication in the Michigan Medical Journal must accompany any submission in this category.

Reviews, Tutorials, and Editorials are typically commissioned by the Editors. If you wish to submit such an article, please consult with the Editors before setting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to ensure that we have not already commissioned such a work from someone else.

Case Reports are generally not published by the Journal. Some very few case reports may be suitable for publication as a Brief Report. However, potential contributors are advised to read the editorial in Am J Roentgenology 1998; 171:1451 before submission.
Book Reviews of 500 words or less may be published at the discretion of the editors. Publishers are invited to submit books and multimedia materials to the editor for possible review.

General Instructions

 Submit manuscripts with a cover letter stating that 1) the manuscript is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, 2) all authors have read the manuscript and approve of the data and conclusions presented therein, and 3) contents have not been previously published elsewhere, except in abstract form and 4) the study conforms to the ethical standards set forth in the Declaration of Helsinki (Clin Research 1992; 40:653-660). If there are more than 5 authors, briefly describe the contribution of each author. Specify  the contributing author to whom all editorial correspondence will be addressed. Manuscripts should conform to the “Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals,” N Engl J Med 1997; 336:309-15.

 Three complete hardcopies of the manuscript should be provided, including figures. For line art, graphs and charts, high-quality laser printer output is acceptable. Glossy photographs no larger than 8”x10” are required for half-tone and color figures. Submissions must be printed double-spaced with margins of at least 1.0” on all sides on 8.5”x11” paper using no smaller than a 12-point font. Do not use footnotes in the body of the manuscript. 

Submit also electronic versions on 3.5-inch diskette (PC or Macintosh are acceptable) in the native format of your wordprocessing program and as a plain text (ASCII) file. The authors assume responsibility for ensuring that the hardcopy and electronic versions are identical.

The manuscript should be ordered as follows: 1) Title page, 2) abstract, 3) keywords and abbreviations, 4) text, 5) acknowledgments, 6) references, 7) figure legends, 8) tables. Number pages consecutively beginning with the title page.

Title Page: Include title, authors’ full names and degrees and institutional affiliations. When authors come from more than one department or institution, use superscript Arabic numerals to indicate affiliation. Provide also a brief title of no more than 45 characters, including spaces. The full address, including telephone, fax and e-mail of the corresponding author should be provided. Grant support and other sources of funding that require acknowledgment should be placed in a footnote on the title page. Also note here sources of potential conflict of interest.

Abstract: On a separate page, provide the abstract (with appropriate headings for Original Reports).

Keywords and Abbreviations: Select up to 5 keywords to be used for indexing the manuscript. MESH headings are preferred. To save space in the Journal, up to 10 common abbreviations or acronyms may be used and should be defined here as well as at the first mention in the text.

Text: Use headings and subheadings for Original and Brief Reports. Indicate in the Methods section that human and animal studies were approved by an Institutional Review Board and were performed in accordance with institutional guidelines. For human studies, written informed consent must be obtained. For invasive animal studies, note that paralytic agents are not an acceptable substitute for anesthetics. State the anesthetic agents used, amounts and concentrations, and method of delivery. When statistical methods beyond simple t-tests, linear regression or chi-square tests are used, cite the software and version used. Give measurements in SI units when possible, except for blood pressure in mm Hg. Give conversion factors to SI units for non-SI measures. Use generic rather than trademarked names for drugs. When it is necessary to identify individual patients, use numbers, not initials or patient record ID numbers. References should be cited numerically in the order of first mention and be enclosed in square brackets. Multiple references at a single location in the text may be cited as ranges when possible (e.g. [2-5, 8-10, 23]). 

Acknowledgments: Signed letters of permission are required from all persons listed in the acknowledgments.

References: begin References, double-spaced with adequate margins, on a separate page and list citations in order of appearance in the text. Use the Vancouver style and Index Medicus abbreviations for journal names. The following is a sample reference: 

1. Lahita R, Kluger J, Drayer DE, Koffler D, Reidenberg MM. Antibodies to nuclear antigens in patients treated with procainamide or acetylprocainamide. N Engl J Med 1979;301:1382-5.

Provide inclusive page numbers for journal articles, proceedings and book chapters. Go to the original source material, do not rely on bibliographies from other papers. The authors assume all responsibility for references; the Journal will not check citations for accuracy. For publications with 6 authors or fewer, list all authors. If there are more than 6 authors, list the first three followed by et al.. Do not cite personal communications or unpublished data. If absolutely necessary, these may be denoted parenthetically in the text. 

Figure Legends: Begin figure legends on a new page. All symbols used in the figure and abbreviations used in the figure or caption must be explained here. 

Tables: Begin a new page for each table. The table number, caption and explanatory notes should be placed below the table. Explain all symbols and abbreviations used. 

Figures: Be as clear and concise as possible. Bear in mind that a one-column figure is no more than 3” wide, and a two column figure no more than 6.5” wide; select lettering and symbol sizes accordingly. Do not use grays in figures or charts, as these will not reproduce well. Stick with black and white. For photographs and photomicrographs, place crop marks indicating the essential field. Any arrows or other annotations must contrast with the background. Do not provide captions on the figure, these should be placed in the Figure Legends. On the back of each figure, indicate first author’s name, figure number, and the “TOP” direction.

 Written permission to reprint must be obtained from the author and publisher in the case of previously published Figures and Tables.

Review Procedure

All orginal articles are reviewed by the Editorial Board and a faculty in the paper's field. Acceptance is based on originality, consistency, validity, and significance of the material. If the article is accepted for publication, revisions may be made to aid clarity and understanding.