Dear Colleagues,

Recently, we have prepared and published a Special Issue on the topographic anatomy of the human body, covering all of its aspects. Now, we will focus on topography and functional aspects of the musculoskeletal system. In general medical practice, most patients present with pain and other problems of the musculoskeletal system. Thus, knowledge of its functional and topographic aspects is of utmost importance. For our Special Issue, we invite manuscripts focusing on these topics, also including radio-anatomical, developmental and comparative anatomical aspects. Furthermore, we also welcome manuscripts dealing with the anatomical basis of surgical approaches to the bones and joints. Ideally, they should point out the fact that minimal invasive surgery is not represented by the shortest possible skin incision but by minimalizing trauma to the surrounding soft tissues. Hence, “love the soft tissues inside” should be the fundamental idea behind.

As for any articles, dealing with morphology images at the best possible quality is mandatory, and we ask potential authors to prepare their illustrations at the best possible resolution and highest quality. A minimum resolution of 300 dpi is thus a prerequisite. Blurred images or photographs taken at a resolution far below that minimum will be rejected. In these cases, the authors will be asked to prepare new images which fit the prerequisite prior to starting the peer review process. In order not to prolong this process, we urgently ask authors to comply with this requirement.

On dealing with anatomical topics, the authors should also have a look at earlier publications. They should cover not only the last decade but also the original publications and monographs of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Many aspects have already been focused on but nearly forgotten in the time since. Recent improvements, especially in radiologic diagnostics and surgical approaches, will now benefit from at least some of that hidden knowledge.

This Special Issue is now open for submissions. Prospective authors should first send a short abstract or tentative title to the Editorial Office. If the editor deems the topic to be appropriate for inclusion in the Special Issue, the author will be encouraged to submit a full manuscript.

Prof. Dr. Michael L. Pretterklieber
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• muscle
• bone
• joint
• peripheral nerve
• motor innervation
• proprioception
• anatomical variant
• radiologic imaging
• development
• comparative anatomy