[The biomedical periodicals of Hungarian editions--historical overview].

Introduction: The majority of Hungarian scientific results are published in international periodicals in foreign languages. Yet the publications in Hungarian scientific periodicals also should not be ignored.

Aim: This study analyses biomedical periodicals of Hungarian edition from different points of view.

Methods: Based on different databases a list of titles consisting of 119 items resulted, which contains both the core and the peripheral journals of the biomedical field. These periodicals were analysed empirically, one by one: checking out the titles.

Results: 13 of the titles are ceased, among the rest 106 Hungarian scientific journals 10 are published in English language. From the remaining majority of Hungarian language and publishing only a few show up in international databases. Although quarter of the Hungarian biomedical journals meet the requirements, which means they could be represented in international databases, these periodicals are not indexed. 42 biomedical periodicals are available online. Although quarter of these journals come with restricted access. 2/3 of the Hungarian biomedical journals have detailed instructions to authors. These instructions inform the publishing doctors and researchers of the requirements of a biomedical periodical.

Conclusions: The increasing number of Hungarian biomedical journals published is welcome news. But it would be important for quality publications which are cited a lot to appear in the Hungarian journals. The more publications are cited, the more journals and authors gain in prestige on home and international level.