title: A report on case reports.
abstract: Case reports are defined as the scientific documentation of a single clinical observation and have a time-honored and rich tradition in medicine and scientific publication. This article discusses the role and relevance of case reports in the current evidence-based medical literature. It also seeks to help and guide authors to understand how to prepare a reasonable and well-written case report and how they may anticipate concerns that peer reviewers may express when scrutinizing their manuscript. An overview of the Journal of Conservative Dentistry's review process of a manuscript submission is provided for the benefit of future authors. It is important to be able to read a case report critically and to use the information they contain appropriately. This article also discusses the factors to consider in evaluating individual case reports, and discusses a practical conceptual scheme for evaluating the potential value and educational content of a case report.
authors.affiliation: Journal of Conservative Dentistry Editor (2008-2010), Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Thai Moogambigai Dental College, Chennai 600 107, India.
authors.forename: Velayutham
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gopikrishna