The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is among the world's oldest, most prestigious, and best known general medical journals.
The journal was founded in 1823 by Thomas Wakley, an English surgeon who named it after the surgical instrument called a lancet, as well as after the architectural term "lancet arch", a window with a sharp pointed arch, to indicate the "light of wisdom" or "to let in light".
The journal publishes original research articles, review articles ("seminars" and "reviews"), editorials, book reviews, correspondence, as well as news features and case reports. The Lancet has been owned by Elsevier since 1991. Since 1995, the editor-in-chief is Richard Horton. The journal has editorial offices in London, New York, and Beijing.
The Lancet also publishes several specialty journals:
The Lancet Neurology (neurology),
The Lancet Oncology (oncology),
The Lancet Infectious Diseases (infectious diseases),
The Lancet Respiratory Medicine (respiratory medicine),
The Lancet Psychiatry (psychiatry),
The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology (endocrinology),
The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology (Gastroenterology) all of which publish original research and reviews. In 2013,
The Lancet Global Health (global health) became the group's first fully open access journal. In 2014,
The Lancet Haematology (haematology)
The Lancet HIV (infectious diseases) were launched, both as online only research titles. In 2017,
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (paediatrics) will launch.