Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging

Clinical Physiology started in 1942, when Torgny Sjöstrand became professor in the discipline at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm. For several decades it has been a firmly established clinical speciality in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. From its start, the speciality focused on diagnostic examination and functional evaluation of the cardiovascular, the respiratory and the renal systems. While many of the techniques used in the early days of the speciality have become obsolete, technical development has led to new techniques for functional investigations in vivo. This has widened the scope of the speciality. Clinical physiologists are now using several imaging techniques such as ultrasound, nuclear medicine and functional magnetic resonance. Nuclear medicine is often integrated with clinical. The rapid growth in application of imaging techniques in clinical medicine has also led to closer co-operation between clinical physiology and other medical specialities, e.g. diagnostic radiology and cardiology. The Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine was founded in 1979 with the purpose of stimulating research and education in the field of clinical physiology. The journal of the society, Clinical Physiology, started in 1981 and has over its 20 years of existence provided interesting reading for anyone interested in human physiology and pathophysiology. Although medical imaging has been represented in Clinical Physiology from its first volume, the increasing use of imaging techniques for studies of human physiology has prompted the Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine to change the name of its journal to Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging. This entails not so much a change of scope of the journal as increased emphasis on studies using imaging techniques. Submission of manuscripts based upon the full range of traditional methods and newer imaging techniques is thereby encouraged. As from this issue, there is also a change of the editors of the journal. On behalf of the Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, we would like to thank Professor Esko Länsimies for his outstanding work during the 4 years he has served as Editor of Clinical Physiology. Professor Länsimies has been working with great enthusiasm for the journal and has made a major contribution to its development. We would also like to thank Professor Anssi Sovijärvi for his excellent work as review articles editor during this period.