This issue of HEPATOLOGY marks a rite of passage that occurs in the life cycle of most academic medical journals: arrival of a new editorial team.
Although new names have suddenly appeared on the masthead of this issue, we have, in fact, been in place for some time. A New York editorial office was established in July, and the new Editor, Associate Editors and Editorial Board began processing new manuscripts and preparing accepted copy for publication some months ago. Nevertheless, as a result 07 the inevitable (and to authors, seemingly interminable) intervals from manuscript submission to acceptance and from acceptance to publication, much of what appears under our names in this issue was, in fact, prepared for publication by our predecessors. Indeed, it will be some months before the last of the material processed in San Antonio wends its way through the "pipeline" into the pages of the journal. As a result, the impact of the new editorial team on what will appear in print will be felt gradually. The sense of continuity this should engender will be enhanced by the fact that the "new" associate editors and the "new" editorial board include several old faces who have agreed to continue to make the extraordinary efforts that have made HEPATOLOGY such a remarkable success.
And a remarkable success it has been. Considering the angst with which the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases embarked on this publishing venture a decade ago, the growth of the journalaverage increases of greater than lO%/yr in manuscripts submitted and nearly 15%/yr in published pages-has been extraordinary. The transition from bimonthly to monthly publication was accomplished virtually seamlessly to the casual observer. If the Herculean effort required of Editor Dr. Steven Schenker, his Editorial Assistant S. Angela Khan and their production associate Steven DeLaHaya to accomplish this explosive growth went almost unnoticed, it was because they made it look