Submissions

Author Guidelines

Zaporozhye Medical Journal is an independent scientific and practical publication aimed at promoting the development of fundamental and clinical research in the field of medicine and pharmacy, as well as facilitating the exchange of scientific and practical experience. The journal is indexed in national and international databases and included in catalogs of international scientific journals, repositories, and electronic scientific libraries.

The journal publishes original research, analytical reviews on current issues in medicine and pharmacy, modern international consensus papers on diagnosis and treatment, contemporary concepts / technologies in diagnostics and therapy, and clinical case studies.

Authors are advised to familiarize themselves with the following EQUATOR Network standards for proper research reporting:

• CONSORT for randomized trials;
• STROBE for observational studies;
• ARRIVE for animal studies;
• CARE  for clinical case reports;
• PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Leading journals encourage authors to follow these guidelines, as they help describe research with sufficient detail for evaluation by editors, reviewers, readers, and other researchers analyzing medical literature.

All articles submitted for editorial review undergo plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and borrowed content checks.

The following articles will not be accepted for publication:

• Articles that have been fully or partially published previously or submitted to other publications;
• Articles that have lost relevance or were conducted using outdated methods;
• Articles on healthcare organization, medical statistics, and education;
• Articles on mathematical modeling of pathological processes;
• Educational-methodological articles.

Editorial policy and the review process are based on high ethical and professional standards.

The inclusion of individuals who did not directly participate in the research as co-authors is unacceptable. Authors are recommended to review guidelines for defining authorship roles.

Authors must ensure a high scientific standard of the material, comprehensive and systematic coverage of the topic, reliability of results and data, proper citation, and correct referencing of literature sources.

Use of artificial intelligence and AI-based technologies in scientific writing. If authors use generative AI or related technologies in writing scientific papers, their use should be limited to improving text readability and linguistic formatting. AI should not replace research tasks, including drawing scientific conclusions, data analysis and interpretation, or formulating scientific statements.

AI usage must be disclosed in the acknowledgments section at the end of the article, specifying the language model name, version, exact prompt, and how and where it was applied. These technologies should only be used under human supervision, and authors must thoroughly review and edit the generated text, as AI can produce information that appears authoritative but may be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased.

Authors who have used generative AI at any stage of the research process, including for improving search strategies or preparing review articles, must detail this process in the methods section. The description should provide sufficient information for replication, including the tool name, version, and queries used, if applicable.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts must be uploaded through the appropriate functionality on the journal’s website (Submit an Article section) by the corresponding author (the author who will communicate with the editorial team). To submit an article, authors must upload:

• The manuscript in *.docx, *.doc, *.rtf format (not *.pdf);
• Scanned copies of accompanying documents;
• Illustrative materials (figures, diagrams, photographs) as separate files, in accordance with the requirements.

Manuscript Formatting Requirements

Original / basic research articles, reviews, and clinical case reports are accepted for consideration.

• The manuscript language must be Ukrainian or English. Metadata is published in both languages (Ukrainian and English).
• Manuscripts must be formatted on A4 paper, using Times New Roman, 14 pt, 1.5 line spacing.
• Margin widths: left, top, and bottom – 2 cm; right – 1 cm.
• No more than 30 lines per page.
• Text highlighting is allowed only using italics or bold font (not underlining). All duplicate spaces must be removed.

Each article includes

• UDC;
• Article title (up to 150 characters), without abbreviations (except commonly accepted ones such as DNA, RNA) in both Ukrainian and English;
• Author(s) initials and surname(s);
• Full name of the institution where the work was carried out, city, country. If authors are from different institutions, their surnames and institutions are marked with superscript numbers (1, 2, 3);
• Contribution of each author, denoted by letters A, B, C, D, E, F, where: A – research concept and design; B – collection and/or assembly of data; C – data analysis and interpretation; D – writing the article; E – critical revision of the article; F – final approval of the article.
• Abstract in both Ukrainian and English (250–300 words). The structure should match the main text: Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions. Review articles and case reports may have a less structured abstract. References are not included in the abstract;
• Keywords (both Ukrainian and English) must correspond to descriptors from the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) thesaurus.

Structure of Original Research Articles

An original study must be conducted using modern methods and approaches, incorporate statistical processing of quantitative data, and present novel scientific findings.

Introduction (5–10% of the article length). This section outlines the relevance of the study, its place in contemporary scientific discourse, the aspects of the problem that have been studied and remain unresolved, as well as controversial or insufficiently addressed issues that justify the study’s objectives.

The introduction (and the article as a whole) should include references to studies published within the last five years in journals indexed in Web of Science or Scopus. References to secondary sources or works that are not directly related to the research topic should be avoided. Citations in the manuscript should be formatted using square brackets, e.g., [22,25], with no more than four consecutive citations.

When referring to review articles, authors should specify: “According to reviews of the scientific literature, it is known that…”. Dissertations, abstracts, reports, deposited manuscripts, patents, and copyright certificates should not be included in the reference list. Each source must have a DOI identifier or a valid web link (http://).

Aim. The aim must align with the article’s title, obtained results, and conclusions.

Materials and Methods. This section provides detailed information on the study objects, methods, and approaches used.

The following should be included:

• A clear description of the study design.
• A detailed explanation of methods and techniques with references to relevant sources.
• A comprehensive description of novel or non-standard methods.
• The names and models of instruments used (including manufacturers).
• Methods of tissue staining, antibodies applied (with clones and manufacturers), and molecular-genetic research techniques.
• Laboratory parameters analyzed, measurement techniques, and the principles for grading severity or expression levels.
• List of reagents used in the study.

For studies involving human participants, authors must:

• Indicate the medical institutions where participants were recruited.
• Provide clinical and demographic characteristics relevant to the study.
• Define inclusion and exclusion criteria.
• Explain the principles for group allocation.
• Ensure compliance with bioethical requirements).

For experimental research, authors must:

• Specify animal housing conditions.
• Describe the methodology for inducing pathological conditions or diseases.
• List anesthetics or analgesics used, including dosage, administration route, and frequency.
• Provide detailed euthanasia procedures.

All studies involving human or animal subjects must receive approval from an institutional ethics committee. The name of the approving institution, protocol number, and approval date must be provided.

The number of samples, patients, or animals included in the study must be sufficient to ensure statistically valid results. For dynamic studies, the number of repeated examinations or experiments should be specified. Replicated measurements on a single sample are not considered independent studies and should be averaged before statistical analysis. Randomized controlled trials are preferred, although cohort studies, cross-sectional studies, and case-control studies are also acceptable.

Statistical analysis must be performed using licensed software. Authors must indicate the license number and software package. Data should be tested for normal distribution, which will determine the appropriate statistical methods. These details must be included in the article.

Studies based on an insufficient sample size, improperly formed groups, outdated methodologies, or equipment that does not ensure reliable results will not be accepted for publication in the Zaporozhye Medical Journal.

Results (45–50 % of the article length). This section presents factual clinical, experimental, or morphological data that directly correspond to the study’s objective. It includes quantitative parameters and their statistical significance. Previously published data should not be repeated. Terminology must comply with international standards (WHO, ICD-10, international consensus guidelines and recommendations). Physical quantities and units must be provided in the SI system, and chemical names should follow international nomenclature (trade names of pharmaceutical products should not be used). Results should be illustrated with figures (graphs, charts, photographs) and tables. All visual materials should be described and interpreted but not duplicated in the text (see section Requirements for figures and tables).

Discussion. The Discussion section should be distinct from the Results and account for 25–30 % of the article’s length. It should analyze the problem addressed, compare findings with existing research, highlight contradictions, and propose solutions or future research directions.

Conclusions must be numbered, well-founded, and based on the study’s results.

Prospects for further research. The final paragraph should outline potential research directions or practical applications.

Funding. Authors must disclose funding sources, specifying the research project’s state registration number (if applicable) or grant details. If no external funding was received, authors should state: “The study was conducted without financial support”.

Acknowledgments. Authors may acknowledge colleagues who contributed to the research but are not listed as co-authors.

Conflict of interest. All authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest. If none exist, they should state: “Conflict of interest: none”.

Information about the authors and Correspondence. At the end of the article, authors must provide details in both Ukrainian and English, including full name, academic title, degree, affiliation, ORCID number, email, mailing address, and phone number (for the corresponding author). The corresponding author’s email will be published.

References

The reference list must include sources from the past five years. Self-citation is acceptable only when necessary for comparison or hypothesis validation. References should be listed in order of appearance in the text. Original research articles must contain at least 15 references, while review articles require at least 30.

References should adhere to the Vancouver style for international databases. To format citations, authors can use http://www.citethisforme.com

Requirements for Figures and Tables. Original articles should not exceed 8 figures and tables. Each figure and table must have a number and title with a corresponding reference in the text (e. g., Fig. 1, Table 1). The table’s number and title should be placed above it, while the figure’s number and title should be placed below.

Figures must be submitted as separate files. The file name must include the author’s surname and figure number (e. g., Author_Fig_1a.tif). For high-quality figure preparation, authors can refer to video tutorials available via © PC Technology Center. This document serves as a comprehensive guide for authors preparing manuscripts for submission to the journal.

Microphotographs must be original and free from any selective deletion, insertion, or modification of details, including the background. Each microphotograph must include a scale bar indicating a specific length (e. g., 5 μm).

Microphotographs, digital photographs, and drawings should be submitted as separate files in JPEG or TIFF format with high resolution (300–600 dpi, minimum width of 90 mm or 1200 pixels) using the CMYK or Grayscale color model. Images must not be edited in Adobe Photoshop or contain additional markings. When saving in JPEG format, use the highest quality setting (level 12).

Vector drawings, graphs, and diagrams should be submitted as separate files in XLS, WMF, AI, EPS, PPT, or PDF formats.

Drawings must be high quality (at least 300 dpi). Text should be clear and legible, with sharp lines and no visual noise.

Graphs must include labeled axes with units of measurement, legends, confidence intervals, statistical significance indicators, and group distinctions, presented in the language of the article.

The editorial board reserves the right to reject submissions if authors fail to provide original image files (*.xls / *.xlsx for Excel, *.ppt for PowerPoint, *.ai for Adobe Illustrator, etc.) to prevent data falsification.

All tables must be in portrait orientation (Word format). Titles should be concise and free of abbreviations. Column and row headings should specify methods and units of measurement where applicable. Empty cells should be avoided.

Explanatory notes should be placed below tables and graphs, not in headers. Statistical significance should be indicated using symbols (* # † ‡ §), with explanations provided in captions.

Literature Review Guidelines

The journal publishes reviews on current topics in fundamental and clinical medicine, focusing on literature from the last five years. Review articles must be structured into Introduction, Aim, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. A detailed description of the search strategy for selecting sources is required. The review should explore the problem, unresolved aspects, and proposed solutions. References should prioritize original studies, limiting citations of other review articles.

Case Report Guidelines

Case reports introduce specialists to rare diseases, their diagnosis, and treatment. These articles follow a standard research structure but differ in three key aspects:

1. The Introduction presents statistical data on the rare pathology, along with its diagnostic and treatment features as reported by other authors.
2. The Results section describes the case, including clinical-laboratory or pathomorphological characteristics, supplemented by illustrative materials (CT scans, ultrasound images, macro- and microphotographs, etc.).
3. The Discussion highlights key differential diagnostic features or treatment specifics.

Basic Research Guidelines

These articles follow the same structure as original research.

Manuscripts that fail to meet formatting requirements will be returned for revision. Once properly formatted, the editorial board screens submissions for plagiarism and initiates a confidential peer review process.

The editorial board reserves the right to edit manuscripts for clarity while preserving content integrity. Illustrative materials (tables, graphs, diagrams, images) may also be refined. Before publication, the corresponding author will receive a PDF proof for approval.

The Zaporozhye Medical Journal follows an immediate open-access policy, supporting the free dissemination of scientific knowledge for public benefit.

If scientific misconduct is identified post-publication, the article will be retracted.

During martial law, the journal waives all article processing and publication fees.

Preferred communication channels for authors and reviewers – Email: editorial@zsmu.edu.ua, journals.zsmu@gmail.com, izdatotdel@ukr.net