Guidelines
edit- Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and has a distinct style that may take some time getting used to.
- It is important that articles use the best sources and content is given due weight. Different from scientific papers, Wikipedia medical and health content is preferably sourced to secondary sources over primary sources. Citing a review article is preferred over an original trial.
- To get you started and to explain why this is important here are a number of guides and guidelines:
Reliable Sources (medicine) Manual of Style (medicine-related articles) Conflicts of Interest How to edit
- Our guides complement Wikipedia:Policies and guidelines and take great care to explain why they are relevant.
Article Alerts
edit
Did you know
- 29 Sep 2024 – Neurocysticercosis (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by IntentionallyDense (t · c); see discussion
Articles for deletion
- 01 Oct 2024 – Shibu Chacko (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Badbluebus (t · c); see discussion (3 participants)
- 01 Oct 2024 – 2018 Case of babies born without arms in France (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Walsh90210 (t · c); see discussion (5 participants)
- 29 Sep 2024 – Harold J. Dunlap (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Scope creep (t · c); see discussion (4 participants)
- 28 Sep 2024 – Alimetry Limited (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by SafariScribe (t · c); see discussion (6 participants; relisted)
- 26 Sep 2024 – Pu Zhongjie (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by LibStar (t · c); see discussion (3 participants; relisted)
- 20 Sep 2024 – Chughtai Lab (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Gheus (t · c); see discussion (4 participants; relisted)
- 17 Sep 2024 – Jason Emer (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by WikiProCreate (t · c); see discussion (4 participants; relisted)
- 17 Sep 2024 – C. K. Durga (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Old-AgedKid (t · c); see discussion (2 participants; relisted)
- 01 Oct 2024 – Seed oil misinformation (talk · edit · hist) AfDed by Mellis (t · c) was closed as keep by SarekOfVulcan (t · c) on 02 Oct 2024; see discussion (17 participants)
- 27 Sep 2024 – Roberto G. Carbone (talk · edit · hist) AfDed by SafariScribe (t · c) was closed as delete by Explicit (t · c) on 04 Oct 2024; see discussion (7 participants)
- (9 more...)
Proposed deletions
- 01 Oct 2024 – Luca Segantini (talk · edit · hist) was PRODed by Dajasj (t · c): Does not meet notability guidelines
- 30 Sep 2024 – Eye Health UK (talk · edit · hist) was PRODed by AusLondonder (t · c): Lacking secondary sources, does not appear to meet WP:ORGCRIT.
Categories for discussion
- 02 Oct 2024 – Category:People with chronic fatigue syndrome (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Gaia Octavia Agrippa (t · c); see discussion
- 29 Sep 2024 – Category:Diseases and disorders (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Zxcvbnm (t · c); see discussion
Redirects for discussion
- 05 Oct 2024 – Neocitran (talk · edit · hist) →Cold medicine was RfDed by A7V2 (t · c); see discussion
- 05 Oct 2024 – NeoCitran (talk · edit · hist) →Cold medicine was RfDed by Cremastra (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Sep 2024 – All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Awantipora (talk · edit · hist) →All India Institutes of Medical Sciences was RfDed by Inu06 (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Sep 2024 – Bosch Institute (talk · edit · hist) →Sydney Medical School was RfDed by Utopes (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Sep 2024 – Becton dickenson (talk · edit · hist) →BD (company) was RfDed by Asilvering (t · c); see discussion
- 08 Sep 2024 – Feel status minus Actual status Inconsistency (talk · edit · hist) →Body image (neuroscience) was RfDed by Widefox (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Aug 2024 – Feminist Perspectives on Eating Disorders (talk · edit · hist) →Eating disorder was RfDed by 1234qwer1234qwer4 (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Aug 2024 – Feminist perspectives on eating disorders (talk · edit · hist) →Eating disorder was RfDed by 1234qwer1234qwer4 (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Aug 2024 – A Feminist Perspective (talk · edit · hist) →Eating disorder was RfDed by 1234qwer1234qwer4 (t · c); see discussion
- undated – Patient population (talk · edit · hist) →population RfDed was closed
Featured list candidates
- 01 Oct 2024 – List of chronic pain syndromes (talk · edit · hist) was FL nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Aug 2024 – Terminology of transgender anatomy (talk · edit · hist) was FL nominated by Generalissima (t · c); see discussion
Good article nominees
- 03 Oct 2024 – Fred Binka (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Vanderwaalforces (t · c); start discussion
- 29 Sep 2024 – Neurocysticercosis (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 26 Sep 2024 – Functional abdominal pain syndrome (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 26 Sep 2024 – Spondyloarthritis (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 15 Sep 2024 – Desquamative interstitial pneumonia (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 11 Sep 2024 – Kawa model (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Significa liberdade (t · c); see discussion
- 10 Sep 2024 – Abdominal angina (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 03 Sep 2024 – Adrenal crisis (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by IntentionallyDense (t · c); start discussion
- 01 Sep 2024 – Tumor necrosis factor (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by AdeptLearner123 (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Aug 2024 – Functional dyspepsia (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by CursedWithTheAbilityToDoTheMath (t · c); start discussion
- (2 more...)
Good article reassessments
- 30 Sep 2024 – History of poison (talk · edit · hist) nominated for GA reassessment by Theleekycauldron (t · c) was closed; see discussion
Requested moves
- 30 Sep 2024 – Sexual disorder (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Conditions related to sexual health by Web-julio (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Sep 2024 – Perspiration (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Sweat by Robertsky (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Sep 2024 – Oracle Cerner (talk · edit · hist) move request to Oracle Health by ItsPugle (t · c) was moved to Oracle Health (talk · edit · hist) by SafariScribe (t · c) on 04 Oct 2024; see discussion
Articles to be merged
- 02 Oct 2024 – Global spread of H5N1 in 2007 (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Global spread of H5N1 by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 02 Oct 2024 – Global spread of H5N1 in 2005 (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Global spread of H5N1 by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Sep 2024 – Splint (medicine) (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Orthotics by Rui Gabriel Correia (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Sep 2024 – Pediatric environmental health (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Environmental health by IntentionallyDense (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Sep 2024 – Levopropylhexedrine (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Propylhexedrine by Irruptive Creditor (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Sep 2024 – Psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Non-epileptic seizure by Slothwizard (t · c); see discussion
- 04 Sep 2024 – Volume CT (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Rotational angiography by Quantling (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Aug 2024 – Hydnocarpus wightianus (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Hydnocarpus pentandrus by Canyq (t · c); see discussion
- 08 Aug 2024 – Amorphinism (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Opioid withdrawal by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 08 Aug 2024 – Fetal valproate spectrum disorder (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Valproate#Pregnancy by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- (15 more...)
Articles to be split
- 08 Jul 2024 – List of common misconceptions (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by WhatamIdoing (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2024 – State health agency (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by GobsPint (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Apr 2024 – Health department (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by GobsPint (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Mar 2024 – United Network for Organ Sharing (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by 45.26.61.142 (t · c); see discussion
- 03 Jan 2024 – Anisakis (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
- 17 Nov 2023 – Mycoplasma (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
- 27 May 2023 – Health advocacy (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Felix QW (t · c); see discussion
- 31 Mar 2023 – Range of motion (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Urbourbo (t · c); see discussion
- 02 Oct 2022 – Soft diet (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by AngusWOOF (t · c); see discussion
- 04 Jan 2022 – Arthur Neve (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Breamk (t · c); see discussion
- (5 more...)
Articles for creation
- 05 Oct 2024 – Draft:Khashayar Farzam (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 2605:B100:34A:23D4:39C5:43E4:333F:40CB (t · c)
- 05 Oct 2024 – Draft:Mark Connors (physician) (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by LordMonster6 (t · c)
- 05 Oct 2024 – Draft:List of Russian drugs (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 76.174.0.57 (t · c)
- 03 Oct 2024 – Draft:John Lawler Inquest (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Suesbends (t · c)
- 02 Oct 2024 – Draft:Levinus Boudewijn Abraham "Leo" van de Putte (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by BasvanVliet1956 (t · c)
- 30 Sep 2024 – Draft:Robert Colebunders (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by OutbreakOracle (t · c)
- 30 Sep 2024 – Draft:Mecklenburg EMS Agency (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Icelobsterbird (t · c)
- 27 Sep 2024 – Draft:Ajay Kothari (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Conquerorstories (t · c)
- 23 Sep 2024 – Draft:Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Skelley4195 (t · c)
- 22 Sep 2024 – Draft:Nyarugenge District Hospital (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Benji1909 (t · c)
- (27 more...)
Recent changes
edit- Articles and their talk pages
Tasks
editMaintenance tasks
edit-
Category:Health disasters in Chile (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:Clarke International University (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:Armenian people in health professions (talk)
Predicted class: Category
Other tasks
edit- Clean up articles – gigantic sorted list of articles with tags
- Write new articles
- Ideas for technical projects
- Check for retracted papers. See Category:Articles citing retracted publications for articles that may wrongly cite retracted publications.
- Remove inappropriate external links. Some medicine-related articles attract inappropriate links, such as internet chat boards and advertisements. You can review the external links in any article, or you can use Special:Linksearch to find articles containing a specific link, such as *.clinicaltrials.gov or *.groups.yahoo.com. Details available in the full guidelines for all of Wikipedia and also the specific guidelines for medicine-related articles.
- Help evaluate articles nominated for deletion. Help identify deletion discussions that relate to medicine.
- Sort stubs. See the list of specific stub templates. Replacing {{stub}} or {{med-stub}} with a more specific template is helpful.
- Assess quality and importance of articles. Use the Rater-tool and assess the article according to our assessment scale. A bot-generated list of new articles that might be medicine-related is here.
- 'Help with completion of translation into French and Chinese'. Help is needed to review and help the article that is practically ready https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89couter_sans_risque. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:GWei13/%E5%AE%89%E5%85%A8%E8%81%86%E5%90%AC
- Improve categorization of articles. Several popular Wikipedia categories like Medicine and Category:Diseases and disorders need people to sort articles into more specific subcategories. Tools like HotCat may make this easier.
Requests
editTemplates
editArticle-related
editCategory:Medicine templates contains all templates used on medicine-related articles.
{{WPMED|class=|importance=}}
- Placed on talk pages of medicine-related articles and used to assess articles.{{reqphoto|medical subjects}}
- Used on talk pages to request that photographs be added to the article.{{med-stub}}
- Used on stub articles (here is the complete list){{Medref}}
- Used to indicate an article in need of adequate references.{{Medref|section|{{subst:DATE}}}}
- Used to indicate an section in need of adequate references.
{{Medicine}}
- The bottom navbox template to be used on articles about broad disciplines of medicine.{{medical advice}}
- placed around requests for medical advice on talk pages (box ends with{{cob}}
).{{Wikipedia:WikiProject Medicine/Navigation}}
- transcludes the navigation template shown to the right.{{Reliable sources for medical articles}}
- updated template providing links to recent reviews, for use on Talk pages
Inline with article text
edit{{medical citation needed}}
or{{medcn}}
- Used after text without a reliable medical source. Generates: Some text.[medical citation needed]{{medical citation needed span}}
or{{mcns}}
- Used after text without a reliable medical source. Generates: Some text.[medical citation needed]{{unreliable medical source}}
or{{ums}}
- Used after text with a questionable medical source. Generates: Some text.[unreliable medical source?]{{primary source-inline}}
or{{npsn}}
- Used after text that cites a primary source. Generates: Some text.[non-primary source needed]
Infoboxes
editWP:Infoboxes have been created for a number of article types including:
- Template:Infobox medical condition for articles on diseases
- Template:Infobox medical intervention for articles pertaining to procedures
- Template:Infobox diagnostic for diagnostic test
- Template:Infobox drug for medications
- Template:Infobox drug class for classes of medication
User-related
editFor other editors
edit- Welcome messages (all of these should be substituted onto a user's talk page):
{{subst:WPMED welcome}} ~~~~
– Welcome message for new Wikipedians (with invitation to join us) – newish, with video{{subst:Welcome medical student}} ~~~~
– For welcoming new editors who appear to be students associated with a course{{subst:Student}}~~~~
– For welcoming new editors who appear to be students associated with a course, with more detailed advice
[[File:New medical editor.ogv|thumb|right|thumbtime=2:59|320px|Welcome to Wikipedia]]
A video that can be transcluded onto the pages of new users.{{subst:RSPlease}} ~~~~
– User Talk page request to use MEDRS sources
For WP:MED contributors
edit{{User WPMed}}
– Userbox for members of this WikiProject.{{WikiProject Medicine topicon}}
– For members of this WikiProject. Adds a topicon to your user page.{{User MedLat}}
– Userbox for those who understand Medical Latin (Babel-compatible; just add|MedLat
to your Babel template)
Wikipedia Library
edit
The Wikipedia Medical Library
The Wikipedia Library grants Wikipedians who have 500+ edits, account age 6+ months, and meet some other criteria free access to certain academic journals. As of February 2021, it provides instant access to 26 journals, and you can request individual access to journals such as the BMJ, Cochrane Library, and Science Direct (SD includes access to The Lancet).
- Found a source that you can't access? Check out the: Resource Exchange
Or try an Interlibrary loan - Need help finding sources?: Help:Find sources
- Need help finding your local library?: Wikipedia:Find your library
Finding images
editMost images from the internet are copyrighted and should not be used in Wikipedia.
The NIH has an search engine for open images HERE. Use with care as many of the images are NC licensed and therefore not compatible with Wikipedia.
Community members interested in creating images
editWe also have a few people who are interested in creating images for Wikipedia including:
Requested images
edit- ...
Non-suitable images
edit- Medlineplus [1]: even though it is a US government source, it uses images that may be copyrighted by others.
- Other sources in the ".gov" domain may use images from istock photos, and such images may not be in the public domain.
Finding sources
editSource | url | Comments |
---|---|---|
TRIP Database | http://www.tripdatabase.com/ | This resource is useful to find references suitable for Wikipedia as it breaks the literature down into secondary sources versus primary sources. It searches the Cochrane Library and many other databases containing systematic reviews, medical guidelines, and evidence-based synopses among others. TRIP Answers is a website related to the TRIP Database which aims to answer clinical questions directly. |
Pubmed | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ | A large collection that includes more than 22 million citations and abstracts and tens of thousands of links to the full-text articles. If desired by the user, search results can be limited to show only review articles, full-text articles freely available to the public, or studies from some 120 "Core Clinical" journals (they are all English-language journals). Results are also sortable by publication date. The PubMed identifiers (PMIDs) can be used with the "cite" button found at the top of the edit window. On the left side of a Pubmed abstract you will find filters for "Article types" and you can select "Reviews" there; you can also filter by "Text availability". Pubmed abstracts also have a field called "Publication Type" at the bottom, that shows how Pubmed has classified the study; check to see if the source is a review or not, before using it. |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | http://www.cdc.gov/ | Reliable source for public-domain information, especially for infectious diseases. Also has a library of copyright-free images. |
NCBI bookshelf | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books | Free access to over 700 health-science textbooks |
Google Scholar | http://scholar.google.com/ | A Google search portal limited to scholarly work (including not only medicine, but also legal articles and patents). Allows easy access to many University and Institutional online collections (with proper affiliation). A useful feature of Google Scholar is "Cited by...", showing who else has cited a particular paper. |
Google Books | http://books.google.com/ | Makes available free, limited views of a number of medical textbooks. ISBNs are available, aiding referencing. |
DynaMed | http://dynamed.ebscohost.com | Subscription required. Provides evidence-based topic overviews and summaries, with plenty of links to the full text of key published clinical evidence, including international guidelines. It also includes live links to PubMed. Trial access may be obtained here. |
Emedicine | http://emedicine.medscape.com/ | Also known as Medscape Reference. Free, but registration is required. Not the best source of content, with concerns that advertising affects its reliability. |
Cochrane collaboration | http://www.cochrane.org/ | Perhaps the foremost evidence-based group. Complete access to their collections is available in many countries.
Also produces the Cochrane Library. |
NICE | http://www.nice.org.uk/ | The guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in the UK. |
PLoS Journals | http://www.plos.org/ | A collection of open-source scientific journals, including PLoS Medicine |
SIGN | http://www.sign.ac.uk/ | The guidelines from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network in the UK. |
World Health Organization | http://www.who.int/mediacentre/ | Fact sheets from the WHO. |
EB medicine | https://www.ebmedicine.net | Excellent reviews of emergency-medicine topics. Issues more than 3 years old are freely available to the public. |
USPSTF | http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org | Thorough evidence-based evaluations of medical topics by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) |
PTSDpub | https://search.proquest.com/ptsdpubs/index | Managed by the VA's National Center for PTSD on the Proquest platform, this robust search engine provides citations and abstracts to the peer-reviewed PTSD literature. Not limited to combat trauma. Previously known as "PILOTS". |
Other useful Search Engines include:
- NHS Evidence: Search portal for health and social care produced by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for NHS England. Includes a one-stop search engine covering a wide range of sources, including the Cochrane Library, British National Formulary, and UK and international guidelines. Much of the content of NHS Evidence is free to view, but access to certain sections (e.g. many full-text journals and the databases AMED, BNI, CINAHL, EMBASE, Health Business Elite, MEDLINE and PsycINFO) requires a NHS Athens username & password – see the NHS Athens eligibility criteria here
- Prodigy Knowledge http://prodigy.clarity.co.uk (previously known as Clinical Knowledge Summaries - CKS) is aimed at clinicians in primary care. It provides reliable evidence-based information and practical "know how" about the common conditions managed in primary care.
- EMBASE: A high-quality medical index that often generates better results than PubMed. It is proprietary and requires a paid subscription.
- CINAHL: A proprietary index focusing on nursing and allied health care. It requires a paid subscription.
Historical documents
editDocuments published before 1923 are, in most cases, not copyrighted. While many of these documents are outdated, they can still be of great utility in supplementing "History" sections of certain medical articles. Also, historical images can still depict symptoms of diseases, normal anatomy, and other features quite accurately.
Possible sources of useful images and text of historical interest include:
- Images from the History of Medicine (IHM) and, more generally, the digital collections maintained in the National Library of Medicine: Care must be taken in choosing materials here since most, but not all, content is in the public domain.
- The Pierre and Marie Curie University has an important digitalized collection of documents [2] useful for writing articles about the history of science (especially French). Its "Charcot collection" specializes in medicine (particularly neurology) and has many valuable images available.
- The Library of Congress U.S. Historical, Cultural Collections and the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog: Both of these sources contain medical and non-medical images and other potentially useful media files. Again, great care must be taken in choosing items to use since not all content is in the public domain.
- "Images of Surgery" [3] is a resource containing a number of historical images and depictions of surgical procedures across time.