For Authors

CATEGORIES OF ARTICLES

Original Articles

Such work must contribute further to well established knowledge. Original articles should not exceed 4000 words including text, figures, tables and references. The format should be as follows; title, abstract of not more than 250 words, introduction, methods, results, discussions, conclusion, acknowledgements and references.

Case Reports

Approximately 1000 word articles that describe a new anatomical variant; provide new data on the frequency of specific anatomical variants; or provide new information about an anatomical variant (e.g. Clinical information)

Reviews

Must be critical analyses of the subjects reviewed, giving a state of the art and a balanced view of all the issues, for instance controversies. Reviews should preferably be contributed by authorities and experts in the respective fields. Reviews should not exceed 6000 words including tables, figures and references. The format should be as follows; Title, descriptive summary of not more than 200 words, introduction and subheadings where necessary, results and conclusions, and not more than 40 references.

Letters to the Editor

Letters discussing a recent AJA article will have the best chance of acceptance. They should not exceed 600 words of text and 5 references. The text of letters should include the names, academic degrees, and primary institutional affiliations for all authors, and the e-mail address for the corresponding author.

Editorials

These are usually commissioned but authors are encouraged to contribute editorials on any topical issue. They should not exceed 1000 words. They will be peer reviewed.

 

TERMS OF SUBMISSION

Papers must be submitted on the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere and are not currently under consideration by any other publisher. The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that the article's publication has been approved by all the other coauthors. It is also the authors' responsibility to ensure that the articles emanating from a particular institution are submitted with the approval of the necessary institution. Only an acknowledgment from the editorial office officially establishes the date of receipt. Further correspondence and proofs will be sent to the author(s) before publication unless otherwise indicated. It is a condition of submission of a paper that the authors permit editing of the paper for readability. The plagiarism check should be below 15% for all articles.

 

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Title Page

The title page of the manuscript should include:

  • Type of article (e.g., original communication, review article, etc.)
  • Complete title of paper
  • Abbreviated title (running headline) not to exceed 48 letters and spaces
  • Names of each author
  • Affiliations for each author
  • ORCIDs and email addresses of each author
  • Corresponding address (Name, postal address, telephone  numbers & e-mail address)
  • Conflict disclosure statement

Main Text

The format for preparation of manuscripts for electronic submission is as follows:

  • The manuscript should be typed double-spaced throughout.
  • Number all manuscript pages consecutively
  • Do not hyphenate words at the end of lines
  • Do not begin sentences with abbreviations
  • Spell out the word Figure in the text except when it appears in parentheses
  • Anatomical terms must conform with those set forth in Terminologica Anatomica(1998)
  • Spell nontechnical terms according to recommendations in the current Webster's International Dictionary
  • Always spell out numbers when they stand as the first word in a sentence
  • Write dates as follows: October 11, 1995
  • The manuscript should have a uniform style and be submitted in finished form exactly as the author wishes it to appear in print. It should consist of subdivisions in the following sequence: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References. 
  • Start each subdivision on a new page
  • Abstract: should be self-contained and citation-free and should not exceed 250 words. Key words should be included with the abstract and should not, in total, exceed 85 letters and spaces.

References

  1. Appropriate number 40 for reviews, 25 for original papers, 10 for case reports 
  2. In-text references: numbers enclosed in parentheses ( )
  3. Numbered in order of citation, i.e., 7 is cited before 8 
  4. Bibliography: formatted as per Vancouver, maximum of 3 authors per reference, add word “et al” after third author. 
  5. <50% older than 10 years 
  6. All retrievable on the internet.

Tables

Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and appropriately cited intext. If numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading. Vertical rules should not be used. Tables should be made using the word processing document and not copy pasted from the statistical software. 

Figures

Uploaded as separate individual files AND embedded in the word document. All figures should be cited in the paper in a consecutive order. Figures should be supplied in TIFF or PNG or JPEG format of 300 dpi resolution and should be well labelled.

 

PAGE PROOFS

Corrected proofs must be returned to the publisher within 2-3 days of receipt. The publisher will do everything possible to ensure prompt publication. It will therefore be appreciated if the manuscripts and figures conform from the outset to the style of the journal.

 

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES

The Anatomy Journal of Africa charges an APC on all submissions upon acceptance for publication as follows:

Authors from African countries - 60 USD

Authors from outside Africa- 100 USD

Students may apply for a waiver through the Editor in Chief for consideration. This however, does not assure a waiver; full or partial. 

 

DISCLOSURE POLICY

A competing interest exists when professional judgment concerning the validity of research is influenced by a secondary interest, such as financial gain. We require that our authors reveal any possible conflict of interests in their submitted manuscripts. If there is no conflict of interests, authors should state that “The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.”

 

ETHICAL GUIDELINES

In any studies that involve experiments on human or animal subjects, the following ethical guidelines must be observed. For any human experiments, all work must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). Papers describing experimental work on human subjects who carry a risk of harm must include a statement that the experiment was conducted with the understanding and the consent of the human subject, as well as a statement that the responsible Ethical Committee has approved the experiments. In the case of any animal experiments, the authors should provide a full description of any anesthetic and surgical procedure used, as well as evidence that all possible steps were taken to avoid animal suffering at each stage of the experiment.

 

MANDATORY SUBMISSION PREREQUISITES

Before beginning submission, ensure you adhere to the following requirements, failure of which will lead to immediate rejection of the paper:

  • The manuscript has to be written in English with acceptable the grammar and flow. If you are not a native English speaker, please use a language editing service.
  • The manuscript should be within the word limit i.e., 4000 words for original articles and 2500 for case reports. The abstract should be STRUCTURED (other than for case reports). With a word count less than 250. Include 3-6 keywords that are appropriate for the paper.
  • Important attachments:
  1. Cover letter- Addressed to the AJA Editor-in-Chief
  2. Title Page- Separate document with title, full names of authors (no abbreviations), affiliations, emails and ORCID of ALL authors. It should include a conflict disclosure statement and agreement to handover research copyrights to Anatomy Journal of Africa. 
  3. Main text- Blinded with no indication of author names, institution, city or country. Must be structured as title, abstract, introduction, methods (The ethical approval number MUST be cited intext), results, discussion, conclusion and references.

 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The Editors of ANATOMY JOURNAL OF AFRICA encourage the author(s) to suggest at least two qualified reviewers, including their academic affiliations and email addresses in the information for editor section in the first page of the submission process. 

 

For additional information contact: support@anatomyafrica.com