Instructions to Authors:

The Editorial Board of the Bahrain Medical Bulletin welcome works in the field of biomedical, clinical and other health related sciences.

Manuscript Preparation:
Submitted manuscript should be divided into sections, each of which should be started on a new page. The sequence of heading should be as follow: title page, abstract, introduction, method, result, discussion, conclusion, references, tables, figures, captions, and legends to illustrations. Four copies of the complete article including all tables, and figures are required along with a covering letter requesting publication and authorising exclusive copyrights.

Manuscripts including tables, references, figures and legends must be typewritten, double spaced on one side of A4 paper (21.5 x 28 cm) with at least 25 mm margin. Pages should be numbered consecutively including the title page. All materials submitted for publication should be sent to:

The Chief Editor,
Bahrain Medical Bulletin,
P 0 Box 30880,
Kingdom of Bahrain.

The format of the Bahrain Medical Bulletin complies with the standard and style for manuscripts found in the document "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted for Biomedical Journals" published in the Annals of Internal Medicine (1988;108:258-265) copy of which can be obtained from the office of the bulletin. Use last issues of the Bulletin for conformity of style.

The Bahrain Medical Bulletin advises authors to use Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary and Dorland's Medical Dictionary.

Title Page:
The title page must include (1) title of the article (2) correct full name of each author and the two highest academic degrees (3) affiliation of the authors at the time they did the work (4) name and address of the institution to which the work should be attributed (5) information about grant or previous presentation (6) name, address, telephone and fax numbers to whom correspondences are to be sent. The telephone and fax numbers will only be used for communication with the Editorial Office and will not appear on published works.

Abstract:
This is required for all manuscripts except editorials and letters to the editors and it should be no longer than 250 words. The abstract should be factual and comprehensive containing the essence of all sections of the paper. The abstract of original articles only should have a structured format. The following are typical headings: objective, design, setting, method, result, interpretation and conclusion. It should not contain references.

Introduction:
Describe briefly the problem. State the purpose of the study and summarize previously related publication and deficiency of knowledge.

Method:
Describe sampling procedure, design, equipments, method of study, statistical analysis in sufficient details to allow reproduction by other researchers.

Result:
Present result in logical sequence. Avoid repetition between text and illustrations. Numbers should match all sections of the paper. Use uniform unit of measurement.

Discussion:
Provide implications and interpretations of findings and their limitations. Relate observations to relevant study and present status of knowledge. Do not repeat data from introduction or findings from the results section unless warranted. Avoid lengthy literature review. Unqualified statements must be supported by references. Affirm the "message" of the paper in the final paragraph.

Conclusion:
Recapitulate the main findings and their interpretations affirming clearly the "message" of the paper. Explain gaps and how can future work continue. Recommend further studies which support the main findings or explain gaps.

References:
Include only retrievable and up to date directly related to the study. Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals. Unpublished and personal observations are not accepted. Journal title abbreviations should follow the practices of Index Medicus. The Vancouver style is to be used as shown in the sample below:

Journal:
Musaiger AO, Al-Saad JA, Al-Hooti DS, et al. Chemical Composition of Herbal Water Used for Medicinal Purposes in Bahrain. Bahrain Med Bull 1989; 11: 118-21.

Book:
Stephen WJ. Primary health care in the Arab world. England: Somerset House, 1992:42-59.

Chapter in Book:
Norman ME. Metabolic bone diseases. In: Behrman RE, Kleigmwi RM, Nelson WE, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 14th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, 1992:130-46.

Tables:
Tables must be simple, identifying clear parameters, units of measurements and statistical measures. Each table should be typed on a separate page double spaced including headings. Tables should be numbered in Arabic numerals to correspond with the same number in the text. Avoid repeating data between tables and charts.

Illustrations:
Figures should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals according to their order of appearance in the text. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographs should be sharp, glossy, unmounted black and white prints. Good quality laser made illustrations are preferred over dot matrix productions. Figures will be scaled to fit the width of either one column (80 mm) or two column (168 mm). Letters, numbers and abbreviations should be clear and of sufficient size that when reduced, each item will be legible. The figure number, senior author and title of the article must be shown on the back of each figure. For photomicrographs, the stain and magnification should be given. Presentations requiring artistic photographic works including colour the illustrations need to be discussed with the Editor.

Electronic Manuscript:
The Bahrain Medical Bulletin accepts and gives priority to manuscript on personal disks with the following requirements: (1) The file should be in Windows Millennium or XP format (2) Label the disk with the manuscript title, name of author(s) (3) Prepare artwork as camera-ready copy (4) Provide a printout of the manuscript that matches the disk file (5) Provide covering letter requesting publication and authorising exclusive copyrights.

Processing fee:
Authors will be charged BD 50 processing fees, non-refundable, by cheque payable to Bahrain Medical Bulletin drawn on the National Bank of Bahrain. Authors requesting more than one copy of Bahrain Medical Bulletin will be charged BD5 for each copy plus mailing charges.