Manuscripts submitted should not have been published earlier or be under simultaneous consideration for publication by any other Journal. Violation may lead to a retraction of the published article by the Journal and other actions as deemed necessary by the editor. All articles (including invited ones) will be peer-reviewed, and accepted articles edited to the Journal's style. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the Journal and may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the editor.
Studies involving intervention in human subjects or animals should have received the approval of the institutional ethics committee. A statement to this effect and that an informed consent was obtained from participating human subjects must be included in the manuscript text. If the institution has no formal ethics committee, a statement by the authors that the terms of the Helsinki Agreement were adhered to will be necessary.
Manuscripts must conform to the instructions given below:

Submission of manuscripts

The Journal only accepts online submissions in electronic format. As of June 8, 2010 all new manuscripts must be submitted through Indian Journal of Rheumatology online and review Web site (http://ees.elsevier.com/injr ). Authors are requested to submit the text, tables, and figures in electronic form to this address. Please follow the following steps to submit your manuscript:

1. Open the homepage of the Journal's website http://ees.elsevier.com/injr
2. Register yourself for free by clicking on register on the top and create a user profile with a desired username and mandatory details. On submission of the information, you will receive an email confirming your registration along with the 'Password'
3. Click "Log In" on the main navigation menu at the top of the journal screen to open the login page.
4. Enter your username and password in the appropriate fields (e-mailed to you at the time of registration)
5. Click "Author Log in", this takes you to the "Author Main Menu".

Note : Please note that the username and password combination required for Elsevier Editorial System is different from your username and password combination used to "Track your paper" on the Elsevier "Authors' Home" website.

By submitting a manuscript online, the author agrees to the following:

1. The work is original and free from plagiarism.
2. It has not been submitted for publication/is not under consideration for publication at another Journal.
3. All authors are aware of the order of authorship. The submitting author shall be solely responsible in case disputes arise.
4. Once published, copyright of manuscript shall stand transferred to the Journal.
5. 'Conflict of interest' if any, must be explicitly stated at the end of the manuscript.
Manuscripts must conform to the instructions given below:

General: Type the manuscript (using 'Times New Roman' font, size 10) in single space throughout. Please arrange the manuscript as follows: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. Number all pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Figures and Tables must be referred to in the manuscript. Consult a recent issue of the Journal for details. Only the Title pageshould bear the names and addresses of the author(s). Editorials, perspective and review articles are accepted generally by invitation.

Length of articles: Text of original articles should be between 2000 and 4000 words. The article should not ordinarily contain more than 3 tables and 2 figures. Case Reports are accepted only if they can be converted into 'What is your diagnosis?' format (please consult a recent issue of the Journal). Briefly, the format consists of case report of about 500 words, a diagnostic image followed by the actualdiagnosis/answer and discussion (250 words). Only 5 references are permitted. Letters discussing or criticizing material published recently in the Journal, brief presentations of data, or those pertaining to issues of relevance to health policy, practice of medicine, or the like, are welcome. These should not exceed 500 words, 1 table and 5 references.

Title page: In animal studies, the title should state the species; all other titles will refer to human studies. State names of authors (including first names), the departments and the institution where the work was done. The Journal reserves the right to ask for the contribution of each author to an article. A short, running title, not exceeding 40 characters, should be provided. Please provide the name, postal address with PIN code, facsimile number and E-mail address of the author to whom communications and proofs are to be sent. Acknowledgements, if any, may be mentioned on this page.

Abstract: Original articles should include a structured abstract of about 250 words under the following headings: Background/Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. [See Ann Intern Med 1990; 113: 69-76]. References should not be included. Less than 10 key words, not present in the title, to assist indexing, should be typed in alphabetical order below the Abstract; these may be obtained from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) database of 'Pubmed'.

Acknowledgements: These should appear at the end of the manuscript. The source of funding as well as a disclosure statement mentioning conflict of interest, if any, should appear under this heading.

References: Number the references in the order in which they first appear in the text and identify the reference numbers in the text in superscript. References may be placed at the end of the manuscript. Publications as abstract and letters should be so identified in parentheses. The responsibility for accuracyof references lies with the respective authors. The Journal is in agreement with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org). The general arrangement, abbreviations of Journal names and punctuations followed are as per the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals (www.icmje.org). Please pay attention to the style of references and punctuations as follows:

Journal article
List all authors when six or less as shown in the example below:
Tallon D, Chard J, Dieppe P. Exploring the priorities of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Arthritis Care and Res 2000; 13: 312-9. When there are seven or more authors, list only the first six and add et al.

Book or monograph
Following is an example:Cassidy JT. Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. In: Textbook of Rheumatology 6th ed, Kelly et al (eds) Philadelphia Saunders 2000; pp. 1297-313.

Tables: Each Table should be typed on a separate page and numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals. Necessary explanatory notes, if any, may be given below the Table.

Figures/Illustrations/Photographs: Photographs may be submitted as 'jpg', or 'tiff ' files in a zipped folder. In clinical photographs, identity of the subjects should be suitably masked; in case this is not possible, a written permission from the concerned person should accompany the manuscript.

Legends to Figures: The Figure number (numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals), title and explanations of the Figures should appear in the legend (not on the Figure). Type the legends on a separate page. Enough information should be included to interpret the Figure without reference to the text.

Units: All measurements must be in metric units, preferably with corresponding SI units in parentheses.

Reprints: Three reprints are provided to the author free of charge. Additional reprints may be requested and are provided on payment.

Address all correspondence to: Gp Capt S Shankar, Editor in-Chief, Indian Journal of Rheumatology at injorheumat@gmail.com.