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UPDATE: We will discontinue using quotation marks to identify parts of an article, but retain the capitalization; eg, This is discussed in the Methods section (not the “Methods” section). This change was made February 14, 2013. What would become of us if the deleatur did not exist, sighed the proofreader.    José Saramago We not infrequently are compelled to refuse publication to an article which contains valuable facts, but which is weighed down with so many imperfections as to discourage one as does the porcupine from closer investigation.     JAMA The second quote, from a 1904 editorial in JAMA, certainly holds true today, but ...Less

The article a is used before the aspirate h (eg, a historic occasion) and nonvocalic y (eg, a ubiquitous organism). Abbreviations and acronyms are preceded by a or an according to the sound following (eg, a UN resolution, an HMO plan). (See also , Abbreviations, Agencies and Organizations.) | ...Less

It’s déjà vu all over again. Yogi Berra (1925-) | A redundancy is a term or phrase that unnecessarily repeats words or meanings. Below are some common redundancies that can usually be avoided (redundant words are italicized): | Some words and phrases can usually be omitted without affecting meaning, and omitting them often improves the readability of a sentence: Quite, very, and rather are often overused and misused and can be deleted in many instances (see also , Correct and Preferred Usage of Common Words and Phrases). Avoid roundabout and wordy expressions: | An adjective denoting an absolute or extreme ...Less

Back-formation is the creation of a new word in the mistaken belief that it was the source of an existing word. Many back-formations are verbs, some of them derived from abstract nouns (ambulate from ambulation, diagnose from diagnosis, dialyze from dialysis) and others from agent nouns, real or supposed (beg from beggar, peddle from peddler, scavenge from scavenger). These examples of back-formations have achieved acceptance; however, many of those pertaining to medical jargon have not, including adhese, cyanose, defervesce, diurese, lyse, necrose, pex (from orchidopexy), plege (from cardioplegia), and torse. Medical jargon also includes many deviant singular forms of nouns ...Less

Sexist language, racist language, theistic language all are typical of the policing languages of mastery, and cannot, do not, permit new knowl- edge or encourage the mutual exchange of ideas.    Toni Morrison JAMA and the Archives Journals avoid the use of language that imparts bias against persons or groups on the basis of sex, race or ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, or sexual orientation. The careful writer avoids generalizations and stereotypes and is specific when choosing words to describe people. | Sex refers to the biological characteristics of males and females. Gender includes more than sex and serves as a ...Less

A redundancy is a term or phrase that unnecessarily repeats words or meanings. Below are some common redundancies that can usually be avoided (redundant words are italicized): | ...

An adjective denoting an absolute or extreme state or quality does not logically admit of quantification or comparison. Thus, we do not, or should not, say deadest, more perfect, or somewhat unique. It is generally acceptable, however, to modify adjectives of this kind with adverbs such as almost, apparently, fortunately, nearly, probably, and regrettably. Listed below are words that should not be used with a comparative (more, less), superlative (most, least), or quantifying (quite, slightly, very) modifier. Note: In general, superlatives should be avoided in scientific writing. | ...Less

Discrimination based on age (young or old) is ageism. Because the term elderly connotes a stereotype, avoid using it as a noun. When referring to the entire population of elderly persons, use of the elderly may be appropriate (as in the impact of prescription drug costs on the elderly, for example). Otherwise, terms such as older persons, older people, elderly patients, geriatric patients, older adults, older patients, aging adults, persons 65 years and older, or the older population are preferred. Note: In studies that involve human beings, age should always be given specifically. Researchers in geriatrics may use defined terms ...Less

Many words have found their way into medical vocabularies with unusual meanings that are not recognized even by medical dictionaries. Such writings may be characterized as medical jargon or medical slang. When these words appear in medical manuscripts or in medical conversation, they are unintelligible to other scientists, particularly those of foreign countries; they are not translatable and are the mark of the careless and uncultured person.   Morris Fishbein, MD I have laboured to refine our language to gram- matical purity, and to clear it from colloquial barbarisms, licentious idioms, and irregular combinations.  Samuel Johnson (1709 1784) Words and phrases that can ...Less