[Remarks to the quality of historical contributions in recent medical journals. Critical comments on the example of the history of traumatology].
Review articles on the history of medical topics in recent medical (non-historical) journals are often of a much worse quality than observational and experimental articles. The criteria of quality of a historical review article, elaborated on the example of the contribution. "300 years of intramedullary fixation - from Aztec practice to standard treatment modality" by U. Knothe, M. L. Knothe Tate, and S. M. Perren, are: clear definition of the theme treated, extensive heuristic investigations, exact study of source material and original publications, critical sifting of secondary literature, naming of the first names and biographical data of historical persons, account of the historical background, use of historical evidences, and reviewing by a medical historian. By taking notice of these items historical misjudgements can be avoided.
WeiBer
Christoph
C
D006663:Historiography; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D012196:Review Literature as Topic