Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica first appeared as Annali di Laringologia Otologia e Faringologia and was founded in 1901 by Giulio Masini. It is the official publication of the Italian Hospital Otology Association (A.O.O.I.) and, since 1976, also of the Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale (S.I.O.Ch.C.-F.). The journal publishes original articles of interest in the field of otorhinolaryngology, the official proceedings of the Italian Society, editorials, news, reviews, special columns as well as a calendar of events. Texts must be original and should not be presented simultaneously to more than one journal. A separate covering letter, signed by each Author, must state that the material submitted has not been previously published, and is not under consideration (in whole or in part) elsewhere, and that it conforms with the regulations currently in force regarding research ethics. If an experiment on humans is described, a statement must be included that the work was performed in accordance with the principles of the 1983 Declaration of Helsinki. The Authors are solely responsible for the statements made in their paper, and must specify that consent has been obtained from patients taking part in the investigations – or, in the case of paediatric patients, the guardian/s – and for the reproduction of any photographs. For studies performed on laboratory animals, the Authors must state that the relevant national laws or institutional guidelines have been adhered to. Any article coming from Scientific and/or Research Organizations or Hospital Departments must bear the signature of the Director of the Institute or Department. The Authors bear the sole responsibility for the content of the articles published. The journal holds literary rights to the printed articles. All scientific papers are published in English with English and Italian titles, abstracts and key words. Papers are published free of charge and 30 reprints, free of charge, are sent to the corresponding Author, unless stated otherwise. Additional reprints can be made available and estimates of costs and conditions are sent with the proofs. Only papers strictly adhering to the editorial instructions outlined herein will be considered for publication. Acceptance is upon the critical assessment by experts in the field (Reviewers), the introduction of any changes requested and the final decision of the Editor-in-Chief.

Conflict of Interests
In the letter accompanying the article, Authors must declare whether they have obtained other forms of personal or institutional financing – or if they are under contract – from Companies manufacturing the products mentioned in the article. This declaration will be treated by the Editor as confidential, and will not be made known to the Reviewers. Accepted articles will be published, with included a declaration, stating the source and nature of the financing.

General instructions
The text must be written in English (British spelling). The text will be submitted to an English language review by the publisher at no costs to the Authors. The Editor reserves the right to refuse any article not written in an appropriate English style. The text must be submitted (four copies) typewritten with ample margins, 25 lines per page (double spacing). Pages should be numbered, beginning with the first page. Authors should also retain a complete copy of all material sent.
The paper must include:
1. Title (both Italian and English);
2. Abstract (both Italian and English);
3. A set of key words (both Italian and English);
4. Titles and legends for tables and figures (each figure and/or each table on separate pages).
Papers should not exceed 10 printed pages, including figures, photographs, tables and references (aproximately 750 words per printed page; for each 1/4 page figure or table consider a 250 word reduction; for each half page figure or table consider 500 words). Descriptions of one or more cases of a particular disease/pathological condition of diagnostic and therapeutic interest may be published. These “clinical notes” should not exceed 4 printed pages, including figures, tables and references. Such case reports must conform to the following format: a) description of the clinical case or cases including the main information derived from the case history, examinations, instrumental and laboratory tests, b) final considerations including references. Longer papers will be considered for publication and may be published as supplements in which case the entire cost of publication will be charged to the Author. An estimate will be provided before commencing the printing procedure.

An additional page (not part of the text) should be included giving the name and address (complete with telephone and fax number as well as e-mail address, if available) of the corresponding Author to whom the proofs should be sent. If this information is not provided, the proofs will be sent to the first Author.

Submissions will not be taken into consideration unless they include a copy of the latest version of the text, corresponding exactly to the typeprinted copy, on CD prepared using a Word for DOS or Macintosh programme. CD should be labelled with the last name of the first author, an abbreviated title of the manuscript, computer type, word processing programme and version, and file name(s) of the document(s). The Authors are required to correct and return galley proofs of their paper within 4 days of receipt.

The first page of the text should contain:
1. Title of the work in English and Italian. The title must be concise, clear and informative. Subtitles should be used only when necessary.
2. The Authors’ names and surnames (the first name is indicated by an initial followed by a period and is placed before the surname). If the Authors are affiliated with different Institutes, the first Author and any others from the same Institute should be indicated with 1, the names of the Authors from another Institute with 2, and so on.
3. Name and address of the Institute or Institutes where the work was carried out; name (written in full), surname and address of the corresponding Author (including telephone and fax numbers, as well as e-mail address, if available) to whom requests for reprints are to be addressed.
4. Key words.

The second page contains a 300-400 word summary in English and Italian which should be clear and concise. This summary should include an outline of the problem, method of study, results and significance of the research. Tables (in four copies) should be limited in number (the same data should not be presented twice, both in the text and tables), typewritten one to a page, and numbered consecutively with Roman numerals. In the text and legend of the tables, Authors must use, in the exact order, the following symbols: *, †, ‡, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡ … Figures in the form of photographs must be provided in four original copies, labelled and numbered on the back, with the name of Author, title of article and arrow denoting top of picture.

References should be limited to the most essential and relevant references, identified in the text with numerals in brackets and listed at the end of the manuscript in the order in which they are cited. The format of the references listed should conform with the examples provided in N Engl J Med 1997;336:309-15. The first six Authors must be indicated, followed by et al. Journals should be cited according to the abbreviations reported in Index Medicus.

Examples of the correct format for citation of references:

Journal articles
Chiesa A, Maroldi R, Perugini S, Salvolini U. Il ruolo della tomografia assiale computerizzata nella patologia rinosinusale. Acta Otorhinolaryngol Ital 1981;1:173-94.

Books
Smith DW. Recognizable patterns of human malformation. Third Edition. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co.; 1982.

Chapters from books or material from conference proceedings
Krmpotic-Nemanic J, Kostovis I, Rudan P. Aging changes of the form and infrastructure of the external nose and its importance in rhinoplasty. In: Conly J, Dickinson JT, editors. Plastic and reconstructive surgery of the face and neck. New York, NY: Grune and Stratton; 1972. p. 84.

Acknowledgements and mention of any grants or other forms of financial support should appear at the end of the paper, before the list of references. Notes to the text, indicated by asterisks or similar symbols, should appear at the bottom of the relevant page. Declaration of copyright, signed by all contributing Authors, in the event the paper is published, should be included. Mathematical terms and formulae, abbreviations, and units of measure should conform to the standards set out in Science 1954;120:1078. Drugs should be referred to by their chemical name; the commercial name should be used only when absolutely unavoidable (capitalizing the first letter of the product name and giving the name of the pharmaceutical firm manufacturing the drug, town and country). Manuscripts (4 copies) (together with a copy on CD) should be forwarded to: Editorial Office: Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica S.O.C. ORL – Azienda Ospedaliera “Santa Maria della Misericordia” P.le Santa Maria della Misericordia, 15 – 33100 Udine, Italy

The editorial staff will assist, if requested, all foreign Authors in the Italian translation of titles, key words and abstracts. The date of receipt and the date of acceptance by the Scientific Committee will appear on each scientific publication. The manuscripts and illustrations of the articles will not be returned and will be destroyed after one year.

Reprints, in excess of the first 30, free of charge, will be charged to the Authors at cost. Cheques and money orders should be made out and sent to: Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica Pacini Editore SpA via Gherardesca 1 – 56121 Ospedaletto (Pisa), Italy

Subscriptions
Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica is published bimonthly and is sent, free of charge, to all members of the Society up to date with annual dues. The annual subscriptions for non members are: Italy: € 83; Elsewhere: € 93; Current issue: € 21. Back issues: € 31 (if available).

Advertising and new subscriptions
Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica Pacini Editore S.p.A. via Gherardesca 1 – 56121 Ospedaletto (Pisa), Italy Tel. +39 050 313 011 – Fax +39 050 313 0300 E-mail: info@pacinieditore.it Internet: www.pacinimedicina.it

For back issues contact
Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e di Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale
Via L. Pigorini, 6 – 00162 Rome, Italy
Tel. +39 06 44291164 – Fax +39 06 44235157

Guidelines for electronic submission
Authors are invited to submit manuscripts in accordance with the following standards: Storage medium – CD-ROM or DVD (avoid using 3 ½” diskettes) –
You can also use USB pen-disk external USB-Firewire devices –
E-mail (please contact Pacini staff before) –
FTP (please contact Pacini staff before)
Software and text Please use Microsoft Word™ preferably, saving files in .RTF format.
Any other programme can be used, including open source programmes: please always save files in . RTF format.
Do not use, under any circumstances, graphical layout programmes such as Publisher™, Pagemaker™, Quark X-press™, Adobe Indesign™. Do not format the text in any way (avoid styles, borders, shading …);
use only character styles such as italics, bold, underlined. Do not send the text in PDF. Text and individual tables must be stored in separate files.
Illustrations Send pictures in separate files from text and tables. –
Software and format: preferably send images in .TIFF or .EPS format, resolution at least 300 dpi (100 x 150 mm). Other possible formats: .JPEG, .PDF. If possibile avoid .PPT (Powerpoint TM files) and .DOC (images included in .DOC files). –
Insert an extension that identifies the file format (example: .Tif; .Eps).