Journal profile · Pathology
American Journal of Clinical Pathology
ISSN 0002-9173 · eISSN 1943-7722 · Oxford University Press · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1931
American Journal of Clinical Pathology: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,660; median 62 days to acceptance (101 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 675 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
American Journal of Clinical Pathology is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality Control, Lymphoma Diagnosis and Treatment and Mycobacterium research and diagnosis, together about 30.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
AJCP’s Mission: The American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing Pathology and Laboratory Medicine content aimed at directly elevating clinical practice, education, and advocacy for the profession. AJCP is the official journal of the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the Academy of Clinical Laboratory Physicians and Scientists (ACLPS). ASCP’s Mission: The mission of the American Society for Clinical Pathology is to provide excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, pathologists and laboratory professionals. Scope: The American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) publishes high quality scientific articles and reviews that are directly applicable to the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine across all clinical settings. This includes investigation of laboratory tests, methods, algorithms, and conceptual frameworks for diagnosis, prognostication, and management in all subspecialty areas of anatomic and clinical pathology. AJCP additionally publishes descriptive case series that add new knowledge or insights into the pathology of specific diseases. Also in scope are manuscripts in the areas of quality improvement, laboratory management, test utilization/stewardship, education and training, and global health. Out of scope are basic or early translational studies without near-term applicability to practice, case reports that don’t add significant new knowledge to the understanding of disease, and purely clinical studies that utilize routinely available laboratory tests. Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 2.3 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 2.3 Pathology (Rank by Impact Factor) 41/89 2025 Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) 0.76 Pathology (Rank by Journal Citation Indicator) 42/89 2025 Cited Half-Life 15.8 years Scopus 2025 CiteScore 3.9 Pathology And Forensic Medicine (Rank by CiteScore) 77/209 About metrics Disclaimer Statements of fact and opinion in the articles in American Journal of Clinical Pathology are those of the respective authors and contributors and not of the Journal, American Society for Clinical Pathology, or Oxford University Press, unless otherwise expressly indicated. Neither Oxford University Press, American Society for Clinical Pathology, nor the Journal make any representation, express or implied, in respect of the accuracy of the material in the Journal and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability fo
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pathology
Editor-in-chief Steven H. KroftPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Clinical Laboratory Practices and Quality ControlMedicine15.3%
- Lymphoma Diagnosis and TreatmentMedicine7.6%
- Mycobacterium research and diagnosisMedicine7.3%
- Blood groups and transfusionMedicine5.6%
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia ResearchMedicine4.8%
- Hematological disorders and diagnosticsMedicine4.2%
- Hemoglobinopathies and Related DisordersMedicine3.8%
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia ResearchMedicine3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pathology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pathology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pathology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 2.3LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 77Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.71LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- h-index
- 117LetPub ·
- h-index
- 224OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 12,021OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.81OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 141LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 31,856 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 107 | 15 | 15 |
| 2025 | 675 | 532 | 273 |
| 2024 | 589 | 426 | 820 |
| 2023 | 510 | 428 | 1,375 |
| 2022 | 497 | 292 | 1,124 |
| 2021 | 573 | 290 | 2,430 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
62 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 44 days – 99 days
- Acceptance to online
- —
- Submission to online
- —
- Sample
- 101 articles with submission and acceptance dates (368 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 3–6 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,660 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- No page charges
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 6,000 words
- Reference style
- AMA
Article types accepted13, with length limits
- brief reportScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…main text ≤ 1,500 words · figures and tables ≤ 2 · references ≤ 25
- case reportScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- correspondenceScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…main text ≤ 500 words
- editorialScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…main text ≤ 1,500 words · references ≤ 5
- editorialsEditorials AJCP mainly publishes invited editorials related to articles appearing in the same issue, but will consider freestanding editorials related to timely…Length not stated
- letters to the editorScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- original articleScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- original paperScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- regular articleScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- reviewScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- review articleScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…main text ≤ 6,000 words · references ≤ 50
- scientific papersScientific Papers AJCP is devoted to prompt publication of original studies and observations in clinical and anatomic pathology. Original papers relating to lab…Length not stated
- special articlesSpecial Articles AJCP welcomes articles that are of interest to the journal’s readership but that do not fall under the journal’s other categories of submission…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use AI Tools
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
Authorship follows ICMJE recommendations; all authors must meet ICMJE criteria (substantial contributions, drafting/critical revision, final approval, accountability). Model summary
AJCP follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommendations for authorship. All authors listed on manuscripts submitted to AJCP must meet the following criteria: Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND Draft the work or revise it critically for important intellectual co…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure
All potential conflicts of interest must be stated within the text of the manuscript, under this heading. This pertains to relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, or other corporations whose products or services are related to the subject matter of the article. Such relationships include, but are not limited to, employment by an industrial concern, ownership o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of Data and Materials
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Authors are required to include a data availability statement in their paper. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. Fo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Publication ethics per COPE guidelines; plagiarism checks routinely performed; manuscripts may be screened for integrity issues including image alteration and papermill activity. Model summary
Authors should observe high standards with respect to publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Third-party copyright
In order to reproduce any third-party material, including tables, figures, or images, in an article authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder and be compliant with any requirements the copyright holder may have pertaining to this reuse. When seeking to reproduce any kind of third-party material authors should request the following: non-exclusive rights to reproduce the material in t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Funding sources must be named (or absence stated) during submission per Crossref Funding Data Registry / CHORUS. Model summary
The American Journal of Clinical Pathology offers the option of publishing under either a standard license or an open access license. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution. Should you wish to publish your artic…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Double-anonymized peer review; reviewer and author identities concealed from each other; manuscripts must be anonymized and submitted with a separate title page. Model summary
All submissions to the journal are initially reviewed by one of the Editors. At this stage manuscripts may be rejected without peer review if it is felt that they are not of high enough priority or not relevant to the journal. This fast rejection process means that authors are given a quick decision and do not need to wait for the review process. Manuscripts that are not instantly rejected are sen…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint deposition on community preprint servers or conference presentations online is not considered prior publication and does not compromise publication in AJCP; authors must disclose preprint posting during ScholarOne submission. Model summary
Deposition of manuscripts prior to submission on community preprint servers or on conference presentations online will not be considered prior publication and will not compromise potential publication in AJCP. In the ScholarOne submission process, authors are asked to disclose that the manuscript has been posted to a preprint server along with a link to the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1931
- ISSN
- 0002-9173
- Electronic ISSN
- 1943-7722
- Society / sponsor
- American Society for Clinical Pathology
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 166, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about American Journal of Clinical Pathology
What CAS zone is American Journal of Clinical Pathology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, American Journal of Clinical Pathology is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Pathology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of American Journal of Clinical Pathology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.3; CiteScore 3.9, h-index 224.
How long does peer review take at American Journal of Clinical Pathology?
Based on the dates recorded on 101 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 62 days (interquartile range 44–99 days); authors report an average review time of 3–6 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of American Journal of Clinical Pathology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Manuscript length: ≤ 6,000 words; Reference style: AMA. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index American Journal of Clinical Pathology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, American Journal of Clinical Pathology is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is American Journal of Clinical Pathology open access, and what is the APC?
American Journal of Clinical Pathology is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,660.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .