Some remarks on the occasion of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Taiwan Society Of Plastic Surgery and Annals of Plastic Surgery.

摘要

The whole concept of "medical journal" is undergoing great changes. The remarkable developments of communication systems are pushing the format of pages and covers into high-velocity mutations. Some journals are moving to formats consisting of advertisements and first pages of articles keyed to electronic content. Other journals appear to be headed toward complete transition to electronic formats.As these changes develop, we should bear in mind what we expect from medical journals.For any specialty, its medical journals are an expression of the community of that specialty.Medical journals may be compared with the amphitheatres of ancient Greece, the forum of Rome,and the great squares of China. All these examples are places where communities gather to debate,consider novelty, and scrutinize tradition.