About Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde

Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde

The Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde, known as KliMo, is the world's oldest continuously published ophthalmological journal, appearing twelve times a year in Stuttgart with the Georg Thieme Verlag. Founded in 1863 by Karl Wilhelm von Zehender together with Theodor Saemisch and Albrecht von Graefe, the founder of the German Ophthalmological Society, the journal has served the scientific exchange between research, clinical practice and everyday ophthalmology for more than 160 years. As the official publication organ of the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG), it combines scientific quality with immediate clinical applicability, publishing original and review articles across the full spectrum of eye medicine, quality-assured continuing-education contributions and editor-driven special issues for ophthalmologists in clinics and practices.

Overview

The Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde occupy a singular position in medical publishing as the oldest ophthalmology journal in the world still appearing without interruption. Published since 1863, the journal addresses ophthalmologists working in hospitals and private practice, trainees in ophthalmology and non-medical scientists active in ophthalmic research. Its profile is practical and clinical: the journal connects scientific rigour with direct relevance to the daily work of the eye doctor, giving German-speaking ophthalmologists a forum where research findings meet clinical application.

The journal appears twelve times a year, monthly, in German or English. For German-language submissions of original and review articles, the publisher provides translation into English and publishes the English version additionally online, giving the journal an international reach beyond its German-language core. Each issue is built around a leading theme and contains original articles, discussions of the most important international research findings, clinical practice contributions and legal advice for ophthalmological practice. Every issue also includes a quality-assured CME article, allowing readers to collect up to 36 CME points per year through certified continuing-education contributions.

The journal's bibliometric standing is documented by a Journal Impact Factor of 1.1 and an annual full-text usage of more than 146,000. It is indexed in Current Contents, the Science Citation Index, Medline, EMBASE and Scopus, ensuring its visibility in the international scientific literature. The print ISSN is 0023-2165. The editor-in-chief is Professor Dr. Siegfried Priglinger of Munich.

History

The Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde were founded in 1863 at the instigation of Theodor Saemisch, with the support of Albrecht von Graefe, the towering figure of nineteenth-century ophthalmology who also wrote the first contribution. The Bernese ophthalmologist Professor Karl Wilhelm von Zehender (1819-1916) founded the journal, and the Ferdinand Enke publishing house, then still based in Erlangen, undertook the printing. The aim from the start was to align the journal's content fully with the needs of ophthalmologists working in clinics and practices.

Three years after the founding, Zehender accepted a call to the chair of ophthalmology in Rostock in 1866 and edited the journal from there. After 26 years as sole editor, he brought his successor at the Rostock University Eye Clinic, Professor Theodor Axenfeld, into the editorship in 1889. The journal thus grew up alongside the institutionalisation of ophthalmology as a university discipline in Germany, documenting the field's development through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

From 1863 to 1925 the journal appeared under the name "Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde". Between 1925 and 1962 it carried the extended title "Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde und für augenärztliche Fortbildung", reflecting the growing importance of structured continuing education, before returning to the original name in 1963. The journal survived two world wars and the division and reunification of Germany without breaking its publication continuity, a record unmatched in ophthalmological publishing.

In the modern era the journal became the official publication organ of the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG), the German Ophthalmological Society founded by von Graefe. The Georg Thieme Verlag of Stuttgart, one of the world's leading medical and scientific publishers, publishes the journal, succeeding the Enke tradition. Under the editorship of Professor Dr. Siegfried Priglinger, the journal has developed its digital presence through Thieme E-Journals, with all issues since 2000 available online, while maintaining the monthly print rhythm that has defined it for more than a century and a half.

Content and Sections

The content of the Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde covers the entire spectrum of ophthalmology. Cornea, sclera and conjunctiva, genetics, glaucoma, inflammatory diseases, lens, cataract and refractive surgery, oculoplastics and orbit, oncology and pathology, retina and vitreous body, strabology, paediatric ophthalmology and neuro-ophthalmology all fall within the journal's scope. Each monthly issue is organised around a leading theme, with editor-driven special issues providing overviews of current developments in the specialty.

The publication formats include original articles presenting new research, review articles synthesising the state of knowledge, case reports on instructive clinical cases, clinically relevant short contributions, and summaries of key research results from international journals. A distinctive rubric, "Recht in der Praxis" (Law in Practice), provides legal advice for ophthalmological practice, addressing the regulatory and liability questions of everyday clinical work. Each issue contains a quality-assured CME contribution for structured continuing education, through which readers can collect up to 36 CME points per year.

The journal's peer-review process and its indexing in the major scientific databases reflect its dual mission: to advance ophthalmological science and to serve the practising eye doctor. The bilingual publication policy, with English versions of German submissions published online, connects the German ophthalmological community with the international research literature. As the DOG's publication organ, the journal also documents the society's congresses and guidelines, giving its readership a continuous record of the specialty's collective deliberations and consensus positions.

Publisher and Organization

The Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde are published by the Georg Thieme Verlag KG of Stuttgart, one of Germany's leading publishers of medical and scientific literature. The journal is the official publication organ of the Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG), the German Ophthalmological Society, and promotes the scientific exchange between research, clinical practice and everyday ophthalmology on the society's behalf. The editor-in-chief is Professor Dr. Siegfried Priglinger of Munich.

The journal appears twelve times a year in German, with English versions of original and review articles published online. Its print ISSN is 0023-2165, its Journal Impact Factor is 1.1, and its annual full-text usage exceeds 146,000. The institutional annual subscription price is listed at 1,193 euros, including print with online access for one location. All issues published since 2000 are available digitally through Thieme E-Journals, and the Thieme CME portal provides personal access to the certified continuing-education modules.

Digital Presence

The digital home of the Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde is Thieme Connect, the Thieme publishing group's e-journal platform, where current issues, the archive back to 2000 and the English-language versions of articles are available. The journal's abstracts are indexed in the international databases, and the DOI system provides persistent links to individual articles. The DOG presents the journal on its website as the society's publication organ, linking members to the current content.

For ophthalmologists, the digital channels complement the monthly print journal with searchable access to the archive and the CME portal, where the certified continuing-education articles can be completed online. In a specialty where the volume of international research grows continuously, the journal's digital presence ensures that its curated, clinically oriented selection of knowledge reaches its readership in clinics and practices, maintaining the bridge between research and practice that Karl Wilhelm von Zehender envisioned in 1863.