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
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Today's featured articles
- 11 Sep 2024 – John Rolph (talk · edit · hist) will be Today's Featured Article; see blurb
Did you know
- 23 Aug 2024 – Diet culture (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by FortunateSons (t · c); see discussion
- 17 Aug 2024 – Abortion in Guinea (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Aug 2024 – Abortion in Benin (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); see discussion
- 11 Aug 2024 – Abortion in Africa (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); see discussion
- 06 Aug 2024 – Abortion in Senegal (talk · edit · hist) was nominated for DYK by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); see discussion
Articles for deletion
- 30 Aug 2024 – Partha Kar (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by A455bcd9 (t · c); see discussion (1 participant)
- 30 Aug 2024 – Cryomassage (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Chidgk1 (t · c); see discussion (1 participant)
- 30 Aug 2024 – Jatin Garg (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Ira Leviton (t · c); see discussion (2 participants)
- 30 Aug 2024 – Manish Chandra (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by GrabUp (t · c); see discussion (1 participant)
- 29 Aug 2024 – Tumor alopecia (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by CursedWithTheAbilityToDoTheMath (t · c); see discussion (2 participants)
- 28 Aug 2024 – Sheryene N. Tejeda (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Ohnoitsjamie (t · c); see discussion (7 participants)
- 27 Aug 2024 – SDM College of Medical Sciences (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Cabayi (t · c); see discussion (4 participants)
- 27 Aug 2024 – Which Medical Device (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Bbb23 (t · c); see discussion (2 participants)
- 26 Aug 2024 – Government Institute of Medical Sciences, Kasna (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Rsjaffe (t · c); see discussion (6 participants)
- 26 Aug 2024 – CRAM diet (talk · edit · hist) was AfDed by Finlay McWalter (t · c); see discussion (2 participants)
- (6 more...)
Redirects for discussion
- 28 Aug 2024 – Virtual virus (talk · edit · hist) →Corrupted Blood incident was RfDed by Pppery (alt) (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Aug 2024 – Virtual sickness (talk · edit · hist) →Corrupted Blood incident was RfDed by Pppery (alt) (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Aug 2024 – Virtual plague (talk · edit · hist) →Corrupted Blood incident was RfDed by Pppery (alt) (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Aug 2024 – Virtual illness (talk · edit · hist) →Corrupted Blood incident was RfDed by Pppery (alt) (t · c); see discussion
- 28 Aug 2024 – Virtual disease (talk · edit · hist) →Corrupted Blood incident was RfDed by Pppery (alt) (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Aug 2024 – Child diddler (talk · edit · hist) →Pedophilia was RfDed by Liz (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Aug 2024 – The pandemic (talk · edit · hist) →COVID-19 pandemic was RfDed by Mondtaler (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Aug 2024 – Medical coding (talk · edit · hist) →Medical classification was RfDed by CycloneYoris (t · c); see discussion
- 19 Aug 2024 – Clinical coding (talk · edit · hist) →Clinical coder was RfDed by CycloneYoris (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Aug 2024 – Infantile (talk · edit · hist) →Infant was RfDed by 1234qwer1234qwer4 (t · c); see discussion
- (6 more...)
Featured list candidates
- 12 Aug 2024 – Terminology of transgender anatomy (talk · edit · hist) was FL nominated by Generalissima (t · c); see discussion
Good article nominees
- 25 Aug 2024 – Functional dyspepsia (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by CursedWithTheAbilityToDoTheMath (t · c); start discussion
- 23 Aug 2024 – William Bronston (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Freedom4U (t · c); start discussion
- 29 Jul 2024 – Abortion in Liberia (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); start discussion
- 28 Jul 2024 – Abortion in Sierra Leone (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Vigilantcosmicpenguin (t · c); start discussion
- 10 Jul 2024 – Eilish Cleary (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by B3251 (t · c); see discussion
- 09 Jun 2024 – Walter W. White (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by B3251 (t · c); start discussion
- 24 Apr 2024 – Exhaustion disorder (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Draken Bowser (t · c); see discussion
Featured article reviews
- 16 Jun 2024 – Helium (talk · edit · hist) was put up for FA review by Real4jyy (t · c); see discussion
Requests for comments
- 17 Aug 2024 – Toxicology (talk · edit · hist) has an RfC by Qutlook (t · c); see discussion
- 05 Aug 2024 – Lucy Letby (talk · edit · hist) has an RfC by NebY (t · c); see discussion
Peer reviews
- 29 Jul 2024 – Dissociative identity disorder (talk · edit · hist) has been put up for PR by Sillygirly97 (t · c); see discussion
- 03 Jun 2024 – Neue Deutsche Heilkunde (talk · edit · hist) has been put up for PR by Gameking69 (t · c); see discussion
Requested moves
- 28 Aug 2024 – Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Hypoactive sexual desire dysfunction by DotCoder (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Aug 2024 – Nipple delay (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Nipple-sparing mastectomy by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Aug 2024 – Mensendieck system (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Bess Mensendieck by Nikolaj1905 (t · c); see discussion
- 25 Aug 2024 – 2024 Gaza Strip polio epidemic (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to 2024 Gaza Strip polio outbreak by FourPi (t · c); see discussion
- 22 Aug 2024 – Abortion-rights movements (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Abortion rights movements by Amakuru (t · c); see discussion
- 24 Jul 2024 – Te Whatu Ora (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora by Lluq (t · c); see discussion
- 20 Aug 2024 – Transgender health care (talk · edit · hist) move request to Transgender healthcare by Jruderman (t · c) was no consensus; see discussion
Articles to be merged
- 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
- 07 Aug 2024 – Fentanyl crisis in San Francisco (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to California opioid crisis by Alexysun (t · c); see discussion
- 26 Jul 2024 – COVID-19 vaccination in Denmark (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark by 94.189.43.2 (t · c); see discussion
- 23 Jul 2024 – Galvanic shock (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Dental amalgam controversy by CFCF (t · c); see discussion
- 16 Jul 2024 – Motion silencing illusion (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to silencing by Adam78 (t · c); see discussion
- 14 Jul 2024 – Clinical officer (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Physician assistant by 59.100.163.90 (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jul 2024 – Hormonal oral contraceptives (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Oral contraceptive pill by Klbrain (t · c); see discussion
- 12 Jul 2024 – Amplitude of accommodation (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Accommodation (vertebrate eye)#Human eyes by Justinbb (t · c); see discussion
- (17 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
- 30 Aug 2024 – Draft:Theophylline ephedrine (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 76.174.0.57 (t · c)
- 29 Aug 2024 – Draft:Roberto G. Carbone (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Wikishovel (t · c)
- 26 Aug 2024 – Draft:World Endoscopy Organization (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Ines V (t · c)
- 26 Aug 2024 – Draft:Peter Angritt (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Mrtony77 (t · c)
- 19 Aug 2024 – Draft:Telelaudo (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Maosone (t · c)
- 17 Aug 2024 – Draft:Anand Reddi (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Trex32 (t · c)
- 15 Aug 2024 – Draft:József Knoll (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 98.191.202.231 (t · c)
- 14 Aug 2024 – Draft:Jitendra Kumar Sahu (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by SandeepNegi21 (t · c)
- 14 Aug 2024 – Draft:Akira Sawa (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by 1967user (t · c)
- 13 Aug 2024 – Draft:Stanley T. Crooke (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Asalsa33 (t · c)
- (44 more...)
Recent changes
edit- Articles and their talk pages
Tasks
editMaintenance tasks
edit-
Category:Smoking in China (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:Visceral motor nerves (talk)
Predicted class: Category -
Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services officials (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.