Abstract

The Korean Journal of Pathology was first launched in 1967, marking the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Society of Pathologists in 1946. The first publisher was Professor Chae Koo Lee and the first editor was Professor Sang In Kim. What began as a semi-annual journal became a quarterly beginning in 1977. Now, in 1991, it is a bimonthly journal with an average of 14 articles per issue. A total of 1,075 articles consisting of 8,624 pages have been published through this journal with more than 537 persons having joined authorship. Papers related to diagnostic pathology took a majority, and accordingly, articles of animal experiment and basic research were the minor. Because of low autopsy rate among Koreans papers on systemic and special pathology have not developed harmoniously, with particular deficit of cardiovascular pathology and special sense organs. Papers on gastrointestinal tract and hepatobiliary system predominate since early years of publication, indicative of prevalence of diseases related to those organ systems. Relative dominance of papers on pediatric pathology and teratology represents availability of postmortem materials of fetuses and infants in many hospitals, despite the extremely low adult autopsy rate. Papers using electron microscopy appeared first in 1972 and the first paper on cytopathology was published in 1977. During the last 25 years of the Korean Journal of Pathology two new related journals were born. The first journal was the Korean Journal of Clinical Pathology in 1981, and the second journal was the Korean Journal of Cytopathology in 1990. Two journal supplements, one of nationwide cancer statistics and the other of an accumulated total index, were accompanied. One issue in memory of the late Professor Yun Il-Sun was published in 1975. The Korean Journal of Pathology is now a periodical registered as a quarterly journal to the Ministry of Culture(MA-1664), and its international standardized serial number is 0379-1149. It is indexed in Excerpta Medica since 1990. It is hoped that the Korean Journal of Pathology will become an internationally referenced periodical approved by eminent international indexing systems such as Index Medicus and Science Citation Index in the nearest future.