title: The 100 classic papers in ulcerative colitis: a bibliometric analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The identification of the top 100 papers in ulcerative colitis (UC) using citation analysis provides a unique insight into the advancement of disease understanding and subsequent treatment innovations that have progressed over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge was used to identify the 100 most cited UC manuscripts. Title, first and senior authors, institution and department of first author, journal, country of origin, year and topic of each manuscript were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The top 100 manuscripts were published between 1955-2012. Thirty eight percent of the manuscripts originated from the US followed by the UK (26%). Genetics was the topic with the most publications (n = 27), followed by treatment (n = 22) and immunological pathways (n = 17). Truelove had the highest amount of authorships. The institutions with the highest number of publications were St. Mark's, London and the Radcliffe Infirmary.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This list of highly cited papers identifies the topics and authors that have made the most impact in the study of UC over the last century. This paper provides a reference of what could be considered as the most influential UC papers and serves as a reference of what comprises a 'highly citable' manuscript for both researchers and clinicians.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgery , University Hospital Waterford , Waterford , Ireland.
authors.forename: Tara M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Connelly
authors.affiliation: a Department of Surgery , University Hospital Waterford , Waterford , Ireland.
authors.forename: Liam
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Devane
authors.affiliation: b Department of Surgery , University Hospital Galway , Galway , Ireland.
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: b Department of Surgery , University Hospital Galway , Galway , Ireland.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wrafter
authors.affiliation: c Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Milton Hershey Medical Center , Pennsylvania State College of Medicine , Hershey , PA , USA.
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Messaris
keywords: IBD; Ulcerative colitis; bibliometric analysis; colorectal cancer; inflammatory bowel disease