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Volume 100: Editorials: What's in a name?
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There are a variety of styles of articles labelled ‘editorial’ in today's medical and scientific journals, ranging from what would be better termed ‘commentaries’, articles based around key papers published in that particular journal's current issue, to true editorials, which are typically short articles, expressing an opinion or point of view.
A quick look at definitions of editorials on the internet comes up with the following: ‘A carefully organized piece of writing in which an opinion is expressed’ and ‘Personal opinion on a subject’. Of course, the name ‘editorial’ is synthesized from the fact that editorials always used to be written by editors.
The key attribute, and what makes editorials so interesting to read, in my view, is the personal opinion aspect. To qualify as an editorial, this present article will comply with the premise of expressing my personal opinion. Other key requisites are that although an editorial is
Senior Lecturer in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care
School of Medicine, University of Aberdeen
Abderdeen
UK
E-mail: h.f.galley@abdn.ac.uk