preffixes: hyphenated or one word?

[Ana S]

I've seen the words "presecretory" and "pre-secretory", and "postsecretory" and "post-secretory" in scientific papers published by well-known journals. How do I know which is the correct? Are there any rules?

[5jj]

If you have seen both in scientific papers published by well-known journals, then it is fairly safe to assume that both with and without hyphen are acceptable.

[Ana S]

But is there a preferred option? I see there are many more google hits for the one word form for "presecretory". On the other hand, "post-secretory" (hyphenated) is more common than "postsecretory". Other words with the "post" preffix were also more common with the hyphen. Neither the "Chicago Manual of Style" nor the "American Medical Association Manual of Style" mention anything about the subject.

[5jj]

But is there a preferred option? I see there are many more google hits for the one word form for "presecretory". On the other hand, "post-secretory" (hyphenated) is more common than "postsecretory". Other words with the "post" preffix were also more common with the hyphen. Neither the "Chicago Manual of Style" nor the "American Medical Association Manual of Style" mention anything about the subject.

If google and two manuals of style can't help you, then you just may have to be satisfied with what I said before:
If you have seen both in scientific papers published by well-known journals, then it is fairly safe to assume that both with and without hyphen are acceptable. (Emphasis added.)