Author Guidelines

Original papers present novel findings, are well-structured, and include comprehensive data and analysis. They follow a format that includes an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and references (for details on structure see section Special Authors' guidelines for ZfOU below).

Review articles provide comprehensive, critical assessments of existing literature in the field of orthopedics and trauma surgery/traumatology. They aim to summarize current knowledge, identify gaps, and propose future research directions. These articles are valuable for synthesizing information and guiding both clinical practice and further research.

Case reports will be published as short communications. Therefore, strict guidelines and limitations are necessary. The case should be presented in a manner that clearly highlights its uniqueness. Extensive introductions and discussions should be avoided. Specific guidelines and limitations are described here.

The “ZFOU” Video Paper section aims to publish high-quality educational videos in the field of trauma surgery and orthopedics. The focus here is on a video that can be accessed by readers of the journal and which demonstrates an examination or treatment method. In addition to technical quality features, didactic aspects are also relevant. The video is supplemented by an accompanying paper in which the respective technique is explained and classified.

For publications in the Video paper section, the originality of a contribution is significantly less important than for an original paper. Therefore, Video papers may also include methods and techniques that are already known, if they correspond to the current state of knowledge. Another difference is that authors may publish their own data on the topic, but this is not a prerequisite for submission.

Be aware:

The paper and the film will then undergo the review process together. If accepted, the film will be added to the media library of the German and Austrian Society for Surgery, and the paper will be published in the ZFOU.

In case of submitting a video paper you must not upload your video in Scholar One – instead use the following instructions:

Authors have the option of submitting a paper to accompany a video for this category.

The structure follows the standard format of a scientific publication:

For formal requirements regarding

please, follow f

ind the document “Author Guidelines for the Video Paper Section (German)” below.

The paper and the film will then undergo the review process together. If accepted, the film will be added to the media library of the German and Austrian Society for Surgery, and the paper will be published in the ZfOU.

In this document, we have compiled the specific requirements for “Original Papers”, “Review Articles”, “Case Reports” and “Video Papers” which cover the following points: