The Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.

Seventy-five Years and Counting

The Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine with this issue celebrates its 75th year of publication. During these 75 years, the journal has evolved from a publication with a narrow focus on anatomical and experimental pathology and a limited circulation to a journal covering the entire field of pathology and laboratory medicine with an international circulation. The journal started in 1926 as one of the Archives specialty journals of the American Medical Association (AMA) and today is published as the official journal of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) in association with the AMA. All CAP members receive the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine as a membership benefit. This distribution, plus the additional subscription circulation to individuals and libraries, gives the journal an average monthly circulation of 16 000, the largest of any peer-reviewed journal covering the entire field of pathology and laboratory medicine.

This article will briefly review and celebrate the history of the ARCHIVES during its first three quarters of a century.

The founding editor of the ARCHIVES, Ludvig Hektoen, MD, of Chicago, Ill, was a beloved and nationally recognized leader both in the field of pathology and in medical research (Figure)[1-3] His research interests were broad and included the pathology of infectious diseases, immunology, and forensic pathology. He served as chair of the Departments of Pathology at both the Rush Medical College in Chicago and the University of Chicago and held many other leadership positions in medicine and pathology, both locally and nationally. Dr Hektoen was the recipient of numerous honors during his career, including membership in the National Academy of Sciences. He and a small editorial board of 5 distinguished American pathologists led the ARCHIVES during the first quarter of a century of its existence.

The editors following Hektoen included Granville Bennett, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Illinois, 1950-1954; Paul R. Cannon, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago, 1954-1963; D. Murray Angevine, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and then Associate Director for Research at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC, 1964-1973; Kenneth M. Brinkhous, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1974-1983; and William W. McLendon, MD, vice-chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1984-1997. Kenneth D. McClatchey, DDS, MD, chair of the Department of Pathology at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill, has served as the seventh editor of the ARCHIVES since 1998.

Over the years, the ARCHIVES has undergone various changes in direction and affiliation, while maintaining its association with the AMA and its commitment to the advancement of the field of pathology and laboratory medicine. The ARCHIVES began in 1926 as the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. This was a farsighted title for the time, but for unknown reasons the "and Laboratory Medicine" was dropped in 1928. With the 50th anniversary issue in January 1976, the title returned to the original Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine.[4] This change in name reflected the reality of the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine in the last quarter of the 20th century. As well, it emphasized the fact that pathologists are physicians with a commitment to medicine. As a senior pathology resident at the time noted, "for the first time in years, the words `pathology' and `medicine' shared the masthead of a major pathology journal."[5]

In 1956, the ARCHIVES became the official journal of the American Society for Experimental Pathology. This relationship continued until 1970, when the American Journal of Pathology (founded in 1925) became the official journal of the American Society for Experimental Pathology and the American Association of Pathologists and Bacteriologists. The 2 societies later merged and in 1993 became the current American Society for Investigative Pathology.

In 1984, the CAP joined the AMA in sponsorship of the ARCHIVES.[6] Under this agreement, the AMA remained the publisher, while the CAP contributed significant financial support and provided the journal as a benefit to all of its members.

Peer-reviewed articles from the various CAP laboratory improvement programs soon began to appear in the ARCHIVES. These articles provide pathologists and others direct access to the data from these unique studies. Another major change occurred in 1988 with the publication of the first papers from a CAP conference.[7] These conferences were established to review advancing knowledge in specific areas of pathology and laboratory medicine. The proceedings of the first 12 CAP conferences were published in book form, a process that was time consuming and provided limited circulation. With the publication in the ARCHIVES of CAP Conference XIII on "The Evaluation of Proficiency Testing Results for Quantitative Methods in Relation to Clinical Usefulness," the peer-reviewed conference papers were indexed in the medical literature and were widely available in a timely fashion. Since that time, selected peer-reviewed papers from some 20 CAP conferences have appeared in the ARCHIVES.

The next major publishing development came in 1995, when the ARCHIVES became the official journal of the CAP,[8] which assumed full fiscal and editorial responsibility for the ARCHIVES, while the AMA retained ownership of the title. The college contracted with Allen Press in Lawrence, Kan, for publication of the journal, and this relationship has continued to be mutually beneficial.

In conclusion, as the ARCHIVES celebrates its diamond anniversary, the journal has an exciting mixture of 75 years of publication tradition with continuing innovation that assures its ongoing vitality. The ARCHIVES retains its status as a member of the AMA scientific publication group, which includes JAMA and the other 9 AMA specialty journals. The editor of the ARCHIVES continues to serve as a member of the JAMA Editorial Board and as one of the AMA specialty editors. Furthermore, the ARCHIVES remains committed to its traditional mission of providing pathologists and their colleagues with timely and reliable information to facilitate their provision of high-quality and innovative pathology and laboratory services to physicians and patients.

Under the dynamic leadership of the current editor, Dr Kenneth D. McClatchey, the ARCHIVES has accelerated the effort to provide enhanced benefits for authors and readers. The depth and breadth of the topics covered in a typical issue have continued to improve and expand. Color illustrations routinely appear on the cover, and the publishing of color figures is available to all authors at no additional cost. Residents have been brought into the publication process with the institution of the Residents' Page, where residents have the opportunity to present their cases for publication. An International Advisory Committee with 8 outstanding pathologists from around the world has been established in recognition of the global nature of the practice of medicine and of pathology. In response to the rapidly expanding field of electronic publication, the ARCHIVES now offers full text and illustration retrieval at the CAP Internet Web site at www.cap.org.

All those associated with the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine--authors, editors, editorial board members, reviewers, editorial and publication staffs, and the sponsoring professional organizations--can take pride in its successes on this 75th anniversary and can look forward with confidence to its centennial celebration in 2026.

References

[1.] Fishbein M. Ludvig Hektoen: a biography and an appreciation. Arch Pathol. 1938;26:1-31.

[2.] Gruhn JG, Steigmann F Ludvig Hektoen, 1863-1951: founding editor of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1993;117: 748-753.

[3.] Wissler RW. A trip through time to visit four scholarly pathologists I have known: first four editors of the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Arch Pathol lab Med. 1993;117:743-747.

[4.] Brinkhous KM, McLendon WW. The Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1976;100:1-2.

[5.] Raff LJ. View of the young pathologist. Pathologist. 1983;37:125-128.

[6.] McLendon WW. The Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine: a new beginning. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1984;108:13-14.

[7.] Langdell RD. The College of American Pathologists Conferences. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1988;112:319.

[8.] McLendon WW. The Archives of Pathology and laboratory Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the College of American Pathologist: a journal in transition. Arch Pathol tab Med. 1995;119:13-15.

Accepted for publication July 18, 2000.

From the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Reprints not available from the author.