reviewed the history of the journal during its first ten years. As this is written, in May 1993, the current Editors and staff of HEPATOLOGY are approaching the publication of our 30th issue, which marks the midpoint in our five-year term. It seems an appropriate point to examine what has happened to the journal thus far during our stewardship and, at the same time, to examine briefly the status of the discipline as a whole.
Under the leadership of HEPATOLOGY'S founding Editor, Dr. Irwin M. Arias, and Dr. Schenker, the journal quickly established its place as the journal in the discipline of hepatology. It attracted 275 submitted manuscripts in 1981, its first year of publication. By the end of Dr. Arias' term, in 1985, the number had grown to 391 manuscripts, and in 1990, Dr. Schenker's final year, 660 manuscripts were received. On the basis of submissions during the first quarter of 1993, we anticipate the submission of approximately 1,000 papers this year (Fig. 1). The number of manuscript submissions grew at a compounded rate of 10% annually during the journal's first decade. It grew a further 15% in 1991 and 13% in 1992 and is projected to increase by 16% in 1993.
With a ratio of acceptances to submissions that has remained fairly constantly in the 40% to 45% range, the numbers of published articles and published pages have also increased. Published pages, 688 in 1981, will exceed 3,250 in 1993. HEPATOLOGY very quickly became not only the journal in its discipline, but the international journal. Non-American physicians and scientists have served as Associate Editors and members of the Editorial Board since the journal's inception. Two current Associate Editors and 16 members of the Editorial Board are from abroad. Since at least 1985, 65% to 72% of all submissions and 58% to 62% of all manuscripts accepted have come from outside the United States. Western Europe is, in fact, our principal source of submitted papers. In 1992, 361 manuscripts were received from Western European contributors, 24 1 were from the United States and 181 were from Japan.
From the founding of HEPATOLOGY, the Editors and