Antimicrobial agents and the medical journal: trends in publishing, 1936-1983

Thirty-seven thousand one hundred twenty-six Index Medicus citations dealing with antimicrobial agents were selected for the period 1936 through 1983. Seventy-five percent of the citations have appeared since 1964, and the percentage of papers published in the English language has increased steadily since 1965. The mean number of relevant papers cited per page and unit weight of the bound Index has declined in recent years, suggesting that current publishing trends increasingly favor literature in other fields.