[Fifty years of the column 'Question and Answer'].

The section 'Question and answer' in the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (Dutch Journal of Medicine) has existed for over 50 years. Medical questions of readers are published anonymously and answered by an anonymous expert consulted by the editorial staff. At first the column grew rather large but in the last few decades it shrank to only few publications a year. Due to improvements in communication (Internet) and provision of information (electronic databases) it appears that the column, as a medium for questions of readers, is becoming obsolete.