Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31264001›Full record

ArticleSurgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA2019

Is Wikipedia a complete and accurate source for musculoskeletal anatomy?

Daniel A London, Steven M Andelman, Anthony V Christiano, Joung Heon Kim, Michael R Hausman, Jaehon M Kim

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Surgical and radiologic anatomy : SRA, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Daniel A LondonLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA. daniel.london@mountsinai.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1711-0762
Steven M AndelmanLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Anthony V ChristianoLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Joung Heon KimLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Michael R HausmanLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA.
Jaehon M KimLeni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 5 E. 98th St, Box 1198, New York, NY, 10029, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWikipedia is a popular online encyclopedia generating over 5.4 billion visits per month, and it is also a common resource for the general public and professionals for medical information. The goal of this study is to determine the accuracy and completeness of Wikipedia as a resource for musculoskeletal anatomy.

methodsThe origin, insertion, innervation, and function of all muscles of the upper and lower extremities as detailed on Wikipedia was compared to the available corresponding information in Grant's Atlas of Anatomy (14th edition). Entries were scored for both accuracy and completeness. Descriptive statistics were calculated and associations between and within entries for accuracy and completeness were assessed by McNemar's tests. Information on Wikipedia's references was also collected.

resultsOverall, data on Wikipedia was 97.6% complete and 98.8% accurate when compared to Grant's Atlas of Anatomy. 78.6% of all entries were fully complete and accurate, with 15.3% of entries containing one error and 6.1% containing two errors. There were no associations between or within entries' accuracy and completeness. Only 62% of references from Wikipedia included were from academic sources.

conclusionsMusculoskeletal anatomy entries on Wikipedia are imperfect; they have inaccurate and missing information. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of references cited in entries are from poorly identified sources. While Wikipedia is an easily accessible resource for a large number of people and much of the anatomic information is appropriate, it cannot be considered to be an equivalent resource when compared to anatomic texts.

Indexed as

Encyclopedias as TopicMedical IllustrationAnatomy, ArtisticData AccuracyHumansInternetMusculoskeletal SystemAnatomyGrant’s anatomyInternet resourcesMedical educationMusculoskeletal anatomyOnline learningWikipedia

Identifiers

PMID31264001

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.