Archives of Clinical Skiagraphy

Archives of Clinical Skiagraphy was the first radiology scientific journal in the world with its first edition issued in May 1896. This is only six months after the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen on 8th November 1895.

History

Its founder and editor was Sydney D Rowland (1872-1917), a 24-year old medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London . The first issue comprised 16 pages with a prefacing editorial, an article by Rowland on the basic methodology of taking a radiograph, or skiagram as he called it, and six photographic plates of radiographs. A final page had advertisements for x-ray equipment .

The journal appeared as issue two in June 1896, and issue three in December 1896, before the word clinical was dropped and it became simply Archives of Skiagraphy, for a single issue (issue 4 of volume 1), published in May 1897 .

In the first article of the first issue Sydney Rowland set out in an editorial his hopes for the new discipline "The object of this publication is to put on record in permanent form some of the most striking applications of the New Photography to the needs of Medicine and Surgery" .

Ironically Sydney Rowland did not become a radiologist, but after graduating from St Bartholomew's he worked as a bacteriologist. He tragically died from meningitis in the First World War .

In 1897 Archives of Skiagraphy was renamed Archives of the Roentgen Ray. After several further name changes it became the British Journal of Radiology.

Editors

Sydney Rowland 1896-1897