Editorial

Abstract

The Journal of Anatomy has a long history and proud reputation of publishing the best papers in the field of anatomy, stretching from its first edition in 1867 to the present time. The continued success of the Journal has been fostered by a dedicated series of Editors and it is now our turn to take the helm. Indeed, it is a great honour and privilege for us to take over as the Editors in Chief of Journal of Anatomy. Firstly, we would like to thank our immediate predecessor, Professor Gillian Morriss-Kay for the fantastic work that she has done for the Journal over the last 10 years. Gillian has been instrumental in revitalising the Journal and ensuring that it is still relevant to current anatomical research, which of course embraces a much broader range of scientific approaches now than it did in the past. We are also very grateful for the continuing support of the members of the Editorial Board, our referees and authors, who have all played important roles in ensuring the vibrancy of the Journal. With the end of Gillian’s tenure, the editorial process is being reconfigured. Rather than having a single Editor in Chief working with a group of receiving editors, we will now have four Editors in Chief, each of whom will be responsible for papers in their areas of expertise, as well as working together across the spectrum of anatomical sciences. In alphabetical order, the new Editors in Chief are: Julia Clarke, University of Texas, Austin, – a paleontologist; Tom Gillingwater, University of Edinburgh – a neuroscientist; Anthony Graham, King’s College London – a developmental biologist: Stefan Milz, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich – a musculoskeletal scientist. Moving forward, we will continue to ensure that the Journal receives a broad range of submissions. As always, the main focus of the Journal will be on the understanding of anatomy through an analysis of structure, function, development and evolution. More specifically, we particularly welcome submissions spanning the following areas: Cell biology and tissue architecture Comparative functional morphology Developmental biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary morphology Functional human anatomy Integrative vertebrate paleontology Methodological innovations in anatomical research Musculoskeletal system Neuroanatomy and neurodegeneration Significant advances in anatomical education In addition to our standard research articles and reviews, we are introducing a new series of articles –‘Insights’– which will be commissioned by the Editors. These will be succinct up-to-date analyses of key areas of interest to the anatomy community, that will serve as primers for understanding unfamiliar territories and which we hope will also be very useful for teaching purposes. We will continue to work to provide a fair and rapid review process that results in the speedy publication of important scientific advances. Our anticipated time from acceptance to publication is 2–3 months. Full details of the submission procedure can be found on the Journal website. We believe that these are exciting times for anatomical research and for the Journal, and we aim to play a major role in promoting and helping to shape modern anatomical research. We hope you will support us in these efforts by considering Journal of Anatomy as your journal of choice for publishing your work. We look forward to receiving your manuscripts.