[A guide to the peer review of scientific papers].

The "peer-review" of scientific manuscripts is an honorable and important task to optimize the quality of a medical journal. The reviewer has the following 2 tasks: first, to provide to the editor an overall assessment of the manuscript and make a recommendation regarding the acceptance, revision or rejection of a scientific manuscript. Second, to supply the authors with objective and constructive criticism and also with detailed suggestions for improvement of a manuscript -aiming to improve its scientific quality.The aim of this paper is to provide recommendations for a systematic assessment in order to further improve the quality of the peer review process. Both general principles specific criteria are addressed. Our target is to further enhance the academic value of the journal Handchirurgie, Mikrochirurgie, Plastische Chirurgie by optimizing the peer review process.