Accepted papers will be published with the understanding that the material presented, or part of it, has not been previously published, nor is it being considered for publication in another journal, the authors being solely responsible for the accuracy and veracity of the the data and claims presented; also for obtaining, when the case requires it, the necessary permits for the publication of the data extracted from works that are already in the literature and not presenting plagiarism.

The Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama, through the Scientific Medical Journal, ensures the transmission of rigorous scientific knowledge. It tries to guarantee that the published articles meet the criteria established by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama. All parties involved in the editing process - editor, authors, members of the editorial committee and reviewers - must know these criteria.

In the case of research involving human beings, they have the right to privacy that should not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information including names, initials or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs or pedigree unless the information is essential for research purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) will provide written informed consent for said publication. The informed consent for this purpose requires that an identifiable patient be shown the manuscript for publication. Authors should disclose to these patients if there is any potential identifier in the material that may be available via the Internet as well as in the print version after publication. The patient's consent must be written and presented to the journal, as dictated by Panamanian Law 84 of May 14, 2019, which regulates and promotes research for health and establishes its stewardship and governance, and dictates other provisions. Here is an example of informed consent that is accepted by the Revista Médico Científica (feel free to use it or resort to other alternatives):

https://www.revistamedicocientifica.org/uploads/files/Consentimiento-informado.pdf

Non-essential identification details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity cannot be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in patient photographs is an inadequate protection of anonymity. If the identifying characteristics are anonymized, the authors must offer a guarantee of the same.

All authors should ensure that planning conduct and human research reports are in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki revised in 2013 ( www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of- helsinkiethical-principles- for-medical-research-involving-humansubjects / ).

When reporting animal experiments, authors should indicate whether institutional and their country’s standards for the use of laboratory animals were adequately followed. For further guidance on the ethics of animal research you can review the International Association of Veterinary Editors' Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare ( http://www.veteditors.org/consensus-author-guidelines-on-animal-ethics -and-welfare-for-editors ).

Upon submission of a manuscript, authors should acknowledge that they have followed appropriate ethical practices in researching and preparing the manuscript, including proper attribution of author contributions, disclosure of competing interests, and assurance that no part of the manuscript has been submitted or published elsewhere.

All authors must qualify as such, having participated in a sufficient degree to be publicly responsible for the content and integrity of the document. All those people who have collaborated in the realization of the work and who do not qualify as authors, will be named separately in the acknowledgments section.

The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the research; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the research; AND
2. Write the manuscript or critically review the intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be held accountable for all aspects of the article to ensure that questions regarding the accuracy or completeness of any part of the work are properly investigated and resolved.

In addition to being responsible for the parts of the work they have done, an author must be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for other parts of the work. Authors should have confidence in the integrity of their co-authors' contributions. All those designated as authors must meet the four authorship criteria presented above, and all those who meet all four criteria must identify themselves as authors. Those people who do not meet all the criteria must be acknowledged in the acknowledgments section, as established in point 12 of this document.

It should be noted that the acquisition of funds, collection of information or the general supervision of the group do not justify authorship. Papers made by students will be prepared with the advice of a doctor or specialist professor in the field.