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
- 14 Apr 2024 – Mad honey (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Gobonobo (t · c); see discussion
Articles for deletion
- 25 Apr 2024 – Loren Galler-Rabinowitz (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Bgsu98 (t · c); see discussion (3 participants)
- 24 Apr 2024 – International Neural Network Society (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Triptothecottage (t · c); see discussion (1 participant)
- 23 Apr 2024 – Specialty Hospital, Jordan (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Cleo Cooper (t · c); see discussion (1 participant)
- 22 Apr 2024 – Youth Coalition for Organ Donation (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by UtherSRG (t · c); see discussion (4 participants)
- 22 Apr 2024 – Function Health (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Star Mississippi (t · c); see discussion (3 participants)
- 19 Apr 2024 – Paulin Basinga (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Oaktree b (t · c); see discussion (3 participants)
- 19 Apr 2024 – Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by North8000 (t · c); see discussion (3 participants)
- 19 Apr 2024 – Paulin Basinga publications (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Ldm1954 (t · c); see discussion (5 participants)
- 17 Apr 2024 – Keller Rinaudo Cliffton (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Ew3234 (t · c); see discussion (2 participants; relisted)
- 16 Apr 2024 – Ballmer Peak (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Chevvin (t · c); see discussion (11 participants; relisted)
- (9 more...)
Proposed deletions
- 22 Apr 2024 – Loren Galler-Rabinowitz (talk · edit · hist) PRODed by Bgsu98 (t · c) was deproded by Bgsu98 (t · c) on 25 Apr 2024
- 14 Apr 2024 – Canopy Innovations (talk · edit · hist) PRODed by Teratix (t · c) was deleted
Categories for discussion
- 26 Apr 2024 – Category:Archetypal pedagogy (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Marcocapelle (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2024 – Category:Fictional characters with major depressive disorder (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Smasongarrison (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Apr 2024 – Category:Congenital amputees (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Smasongarrison (t · c); see discussion
- 23 Mar 2024 – Category:American geriatricians (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Marcocapelle (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Mar 2024 – Category:Australian geriatricians (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Smasongarrison (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Mar 2024 – Category:Canadian geriatricians (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Smasongarrison (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Mar 2024 – Category:Schools of medicine in Curaçao (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Fayenatic london (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Mar 2024 – Category:Schools of medicine in Saba (island) (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Fayenatic london (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Mar 2024 – Category:Schools of medicine in Bonaire (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Fayenatic london (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Mar 2024 – Category:Norwegian geriatricians (talk · edit · hist) was CfDed by Smasongarrison (t · c); see discussion
Redirects for discussion
- 25 Apr 2024 – Sanju Bhagat (talk · edit · hist) →Fetus in fetu was RfDed by Utopes (t · c); see discussion
- 21 Apr 2024 – P-hunting (talk · edit · hist) →Misuse of p-values was RfDed by Utopes (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2024 – I just farted (talk · edit · hist) →Flatulence was RfDed by Utopes (t · c); see discussion
- 10 Apr 2024 – Oncotype DX Colon Cancer Assay (talk · edit · hist) →Colorectal cancer was RfDed by Pppery (t · c); see discussion
- 10 Apr 2024 – Fucktarded (talk · edit · hist) →List of disability-related terms with negative connotations#F was RfDed by Pppery (t · c); see discussion
- 09 Apr 2024 – Kuru (disease (talk · edit · hist) →Kuru (disease) was RfDed by Utopes (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Mar 2024 – Dependence liability (talk · edit · hist) →Substance dependence was RfDed by Hildeoc (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Mar 2024 – Psychological addiction (talk · edit · hist) →Addiction was RfDed by Hildeoc (t · c); see discussion
Featured article candidates
- 22 Apr 2024 – Dracunculiasis (talk · edit · hist) was FA nominated by Ajpolino (t · c); see discussion
Good article nominees
- 24 Apr 2024 – Exhaustion disorder (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Draken Bowser (t · c); start discussion
- 16 Apr 2024 – Alexander Langmuir (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by BluePenguin18 (t · c); start discussion
- 28 Mar 2024 – Adrenal crisis (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by CursedWithTheAbilityToDoTheMath (t · c); start discussion
- 22 Mar 2024 – Hepatic hydrothorax (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Aeschylus (t · c); start discussion
- 06 Mar 2024 – Eileen Niedfield (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Fortunaa (t · c); see discussion
Featured article reviews
Requests for comments
- 05 Apr 2024 – Havana syndrome (talk · edit · hist) has an RfC by Noleander (t · c); see discussion
Requested moves
- 22 Apr 2024 – 2022–2023 mpox outbreak (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Global mpox outbreak by Crossroads (t · c); see discussion
- 10 Mar 2024 – Trinity Health (Livonia, Michigan) (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Trinity Health by IagoQnsi (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Feb 2024 – Genital modification and mutilation (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Genital modification by KlayCax (t · c); see discussion
- 07 Apr 2024 – Classification of transsexual and transgender people (talk · edit · hist) move request to Classification of transgender people by GnocchiFan (t · c) was moved to Classification of transgender people (talk · edit · hist) by Alpha3031 (t · c) on 19 Apr 2024; see discussion
Articles to be merged
- 20 Apr 2024 – Chromosome theory of cancer (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Chromosome instability by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Apr 2024 – Fentanyl crisis in San Francisco (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to California opioid crisis by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Apr 2024 – Rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and Parkinson's disease (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder by SandyGeorgia (t · c); see discussion
- 17 Apr 2024 – Management of dehydration (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Fluid replacement by Artoria2e5 (t · c); see discussion
- 15 Apr 2024 – General medical journal (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to medical journal by Headbomb (t · c); see discussion
- 01 Apr 2024 – Kenneth Charles Easton (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Ken Easton by Samoasambia (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Mar 2024 – Salpingectomy (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Prophylactic salpingectomy by Yutsi (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Mar 2024 – MALOVA (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Ovarian cancer#Research by Uffda608 (t · c); see discussion
- 18 Mar 2024 – Collaborative Care (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Integrated care by Mangocove (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Mar 2024 – Vibration white finger (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Hand arm vibrations by Yutsi (t · c); see discussion
- (21 more...)
Articles to be split
- 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
- 11 Dec 2021 – Care UK (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by Djm-leighpark (t · c); see discussion
- (5 more...)
Articles for creation
- 24 Apr 2024 – Draft:Roberto Giovanni Carbone (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Trafalgar54 (t · c)
- 22 Apr 2024 – Draft:Robert Colebunders (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by OutbreakOracle (t · c)
- 22 Apr 2024 – Draft:Jan Poolman (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Wikicluck44 (t · c)
- 22 Apr 2024 – Draft:Tissue Containment Systems (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Qwerfjkl (bot) (t · c)
- 20 Apr 2024 – Draft:Olech Szczepski (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Qwerfjkl (bot) (t · c)
- 19 Apr 2024 – Draft:Irfan Rahman (Researcher/Scientist) (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Mdiltz1 (t · c)
- 15 Apr 2024 – Draft:Non-Arteriitic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Sousenkothen (t · c)
- 11 Apr 2024 – Draft:Parallelism (laboratory test) (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by ICON2022 (t · c)
- 11 Apr 2024 – Draft:Vision Rehabilitation Therapist (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Skelley4195 (t · c)
- 09 Apr 2024 – Draft:Iain McInnes (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Ryanenglish08 (t · c)
- (33 more...)
Recent changes edit
- Articles and their talk pages
Tasks edit
Maintenance tasks edit
Assess for quality
Not tagged by the WikiProject
-
Category:Dengue fever outbreaks (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:Puerto Rican anesthesiologists (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:Novels about HIV/AIDS (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 edit
Templates edit
edit
Category: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 edit
WP: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
edit
For 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 edit
Most 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 edit
We 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 edit
Source | 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 edit
Documents 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.