The purpose of Medical Hypotheses is to provide a forum for the presentation and criticism of ideas in medicine and the related biomedical sciences. Most biomedical journals will publish ideas only in papers which also report observations. As the best scientists have repeatedly emphasized, this gives a misleading impression of the process of discovery. The ideas usually come first and they determine what observations should and will be made. Although fully acknowledged in other sciences, this central role of ideas in scientific progress is only now beginning to be widely recognized in medicine. Ideas occur to many people not in a position to test them experimentally. Ideas frequently require much fuller exposition than is allowed in the discussion section of an experimental paper. Ideas should be open to comment by scientists who have not done experimental work in the field. Medical Hypotheses will publish ideas or criticisms of ideas from any person, irrespective of whether any experimental testing of the ideas has been performed by the writer. Medical Hypotheses will also publish letters which comment on articles in the journal. Medical Hypotheses is the only journal fully devoted to the publication of ideas in the biomedical sciences. The justification for its existence is discussed in the editorial printed at the beginning of the first issue (January-February, 1975). If you feel that the aims of Medical Hypotheses are important and worthwhile, please encourage your library to subscribe to it.

醫(yī)學(xué)假說的目的是為醫(yī)學(xué)和相關(guān)生物醫(yī)學(xué)科學(xué)的觀點提供一個展示和批評的論壇。大多數(shù)生物醫(yī)學(xué)期刊只會在報告觀察結(jié)果的論文中發(fā)表觀點。正如最優(yōu)秀的科學(xué)家一再強調(diào)的那樣，這給人一種對發(fā)現(xiàn)過程的誤解。通常先有想法，然后再決定應(yīng)該和將要進行什么觀察。盡管在其他科學(xué)領(lǐng)域得到充分承認，但在科學(xué)進步中思想的這一核心作用直到現(xiàn)在才開始在醫(yī)學(xué)界得到廣泛承認。很多人都有過這樣的想法，但卻無法通過實驗來驗證。思想經(jīng)常需要比實驗論文的討論部分更全面的闡述。沒有在該領(lǐng)域做過實驗工作的科學(xué)家應(yīng)該公開發(fā)表意見。醫(yī)學(xué)假設(shè)將發(fā)表來自任何人的觀點或觀點的批評，不管作者是否對這些觀點進行過實驗測試。醫(yī)學(xué)假說也會在期刊上發(fā)表評論文章的信件。《醫(yī)學(xué)假說》是唯一一本完全致力于發(fā)表生物醫(yī)學(xué)觀點的雜志。第一期(1975年1月至2月)開始刊印的社論討論了它存在的理由。如果你覺得醫(yī)學(xué)假設(shè)的目的是重要和有價值的，請鼓勵你的圖書館訂閱它。