Instructions for authors
Submitting a manuscript to Actualizaciones en Osteología implies that the work is original, has not been submitted simultaneously to other journals, and has not been accepted for publication elsewhere. The journal adheres to international ethical standards for publication, following the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and for properly citing all sources. All articles published in the journal are under the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY‑NC‑SA 4.0) license, allowing open access and non-commercial use of the content with appropriate attribution. Copyright remains with the authors, who retain intellectual property rights over their work. Authors must also indicate the availability of the data used and any supplementary material accompanying the study, in accordance with the journal’s transparency and reproducibility policies.
User Registration
To submit an article, authors must register in the journal’s submission management system via our website. Once registered, you may begin uploading and submitting your manuscript.
Files to Submit
Cover Letter to the Editors
When submitting the article, authors must include a file with a cover letter addressed to Editors Dr. Virginia Massheimer and Dr. Silvina Mastaglia. It should contain the following information (you may use this template): Journal section to which the article is submitted; Author information: full name (e.g., María M. Pérez, Juan C. Rodríguez), email address, ORCID (must be generated at https://orcid.org), each author’s full affiliation in the original language, without abbreviations, author order, indicating the corresponding author with name and email; Author contributions according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) in Spanish; Funding statement (sources of financial support, if any); Declaration of conflicts of interest; Statement of originality (confirmation that the manuscript is original and has not been submitted elsewhere); Acknowledgments: include individuals, institutions, or organizations that contributed to the work but do not meet the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) [see authorship policies]. Important note: This document does not replace entering all authors and their information in the system. The author list cannot be modified after manuscript acceptance.
Publication Consent
Authors must attach a publication consent form [Download here].
Manuscript Preparation
Actualizaciones en Osteología follows the requirements established by the ICMJE and the editorial best practices approved by COPE.
Format and Presentation
Manuscripts must be prepared in Word (doc or docx), with margins of at least 20 mm, single line spacing, and Arial 12-point font (or similar). Pages and lines must be numbered consecutively. Only standard abbreviations may be used. Abbreviations are not allowed in the title or abstract. Manuscripts must be anonymized for peer review. Author names, affiliations, and any identifying information must be removed before submission. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s requirements, including format, structure, figures, and tables, will not proceed to review.
Title Page
The first page of the manuscript must include journal section (Original Articles, Reviews, Short Communications, Case Reports, Editorial, Letter to the Editor), article title in Spanish and English, short title for page headers (maximum 6 words), and abstract and keywords in Spanish and English.
Manuscript Structure [see summary]
Original Articles
Structure: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions. Maximum length: 5,000 words, including up to 5 figures and 5 tables. References: maximum 50. Must include details of informed consent and ethical guidelines. Structured abstract: up to 350 words in Spanish and English. Keywords: 4–10 in Spanish and English; MeSH terms may be used.
Reviews
Structure: Introduction, Methodology (for systematic reviews), Development and Discussion, Conclusion. Maximum length: 6,000 words, including up to 5 figures and 5 tables. References: maximum 60. Abstract: up to 350 words in Spanish and English. Keywords: 4–10 in Spanish and English; MeSH terms may be used.
Short Communications
Structure: Brief introduction, development, and relevant conclusions. Maximum length: 3,000 words, including up to 4 figures and 4 tables. References: maximum 30. Abstract: up to 250 words in Spanish and English. Keywords: 4–10 in Spanish and English; MeSH terms may be used.
Case Reports
Structure: Introduction, Clinical Case, Discussion. Maximum length: 3,000 words, including up to 4 figures and 4 tables. References: maximum 30. Abstract: up to 250 words in Spanish and English. Keywords: 4–10 in Spanish and English; MeSH terms may be used.
Letters to the Editor and Editorials
Maximum length: 1,000 words; Letters may include up to 2 figures or tables. References: maximum 10. Keywords: 4–10 in Spanish and English; MeSH terms may be used.
Citations and References
References must be numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text; in-text citations should be in superscript. Journal articles: list all authors if six or fewer; if more than six, list the first three followed by “et al.” Journal titles must be abbreviated according to Index Medicus style (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals) and italicized. Include DOI when available. Example: Diab T, Wang J, Reinwald S, Guldberg RE, Burr DB. Effects of combined raloxifene and alendronate treatment on vertebral bone biomechanical properties. J Bone Miner Res 2011;26:270‑6. https://doi.org/xxxxx. Book chapters: include chapter authors, chapter title, book editors, book title, place of publication, publisher, year, and page numbers. Example: Rigalli A. Euthanasia. In: Rigalli A, Di Loreto VE (eds). Experimental Surgical Models in the Laboratory Rat. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009, p. 31‑2. Websites: include institution or author, page title, publication or update date, and full URL. Example: World Health Organization (WHO). The Stop TB Web Alert. 6 Dec 2000. Available at: http://www.stoptb.org/updates/index.html. Note: Include DOIs when available.
Figures and Tables
Tables: Submit as a separate, editable file (Word or Excel), numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Include clear, complete information with explanatory titles and detailed legends. If in English, provide a Spanish version. Cite all tables in-text as “Table” followed by the number. Figures: Submit separately in .jpg or .tif format, minimum 300 dpi, maximum 2 MB. Micrographs must include scale or magnification. If in English, provide a Spanish version. Cite all figures in-text as “Figure” followed by the number. Titles and legends must be clear and concise and indicate whether content is original, licensed, or reproduced with permission. Provide proper attribution. Titles and legends should appear on a separate page at the end of the manuscript.
Ethical Considerations
Informed Consent: In Original Articles and Case Reports, authors must document informed consent for publication of patient data, following international and local ethical standards. Ethical Standards: Authors must indicate whether the study was conducted according to ethical guidelines approved by an institutional or regional ethics committee for research involving humans or animals. Articles must follow the Declaration of Helsinki, the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (UNESCO, 1997), and the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (UNESCO, 2003). For studies involving animals, indicate ethical guidelines approved by an institutional committee (e.g., CICUAL, CICUAE, ICLAS) or in accordance with national regulations. Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts that could influence data interpretation or manuscript writing. Conflicts must be declared in the cover letter [see model letter].
Use of Generative AI in Scientific Writing
Use of AI tools is limited to assistance in writing and organization and must be declared in the cover letter. AI may not be used to generate scientific content, analyze data, or create references. Authors assume full responsibility for the content [see AI Policy]. Declaration will appear in the published article before the references: During preparation of this work, the authors used [name of tool/service] to [purpose]. After use, authors reviewed and edited the content and assume full responsibility for the published article.
Peer Review Process
All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review. Evaluation is conducted by an editor and at least two external reviewers selected from a database of experts, independent of the editorial team. Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and decline the review if applicable. Manuscripts are confidential. Review typically takes 30–60 days. Editorial decisions (acceptance with or without revisions, or rejection) are final. Revised manuscripts may undergo additional rounds of review at the discretion of the editorial team.
Proof Correction
Accepted manuscripts will be sent to authors for final proof review. Authors have 72 hours to review and approve the final version. Only minor formatting corrections are allowed; substantive changes are not accepted. A video tutorial on proof correction is available. If authors do not respond within the deadline, the submitted version will be considered approved.
