For the Bundesministerium der Justiz, see Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany).

BMJ is an open-access^[1] peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association. The editor in chief of BMJ is Fiona Godlee, who was appointed in February 2005.^[2]

History[link]

The journal began publishing on 3 October 1840 as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal and quickly attracted the attention of physicians around the world through its publication of high-impact original research articles and unique case reports.^[3] The BMJ's first editors were P. Hennis Green, lecturer on the diseases of children at the Hunterian School of Medicine, who also was its founder and Robert Streeten of Worcester, a member of the PMSA council.

The first issue of the British Medical Journal was 16 pages long and contained three simple woodcut illustrations. The longest items were the editors' introductory editorial and a report of the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association's Eastern Branch. Other pages included a condensed version of Henry Warburton's medical reform bill, book reviews, clinical papers, and case notes. There were 2 ¹⁄₂ columns of advertisements. Inclusive of stamp duty it cost 7d, a price which remained until 1844. In their main article, Green and Streeten noted that they had "received as many advertisements (in proportion to the quantity of letter press) for our first number, as the most popular Medical Journal, (The Lancet) after seventeen years of existence."^[3]

In their introductory editorial and later statements, Green and Streeten defined "the main objects of promotion of which the Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal is established". Summarised, there were two clear main objectives: the advancement of the profession, especially in the provinces and the dissemination of medical knowledge. Green and Streeten also expressed interest in promoting public well-being as well as maintaining 'medical practitioners, as a class in that rank of society which, by their intellectual acquirements, by their general moral character, and by the importance of the duties entrusted to them, they are justly entitled to hold'.^[3]

The BMJ published the first centrally randomised controlled trial.^[4] The journal also carried the seminal papers on the causal effects of smoking on health^[5][6] and lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking.^[7]

For a long time, the journal's sole competitor was The Lancet, also based in the UK, but with increasing globalisation, BMJ has faced tough competition from other medical journals, particularly The New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association.^[8]

Journal content[link]

BMJ is an advocate of evidence-based medicine. It publishes research as well as clinical reviews, recent medical advances, editorial perspectives, among others.

The journal releases a number of "theme issues" every year, when it publishes research and review articles pertaining to the theme addressed. Some of the popular theme issues in recent^[when?] years include "Health in Africa", "Management of Chronic Diseases", and "Global Voices on the AIDS Catastrophe". A special "Christmas Edition" published annually on the Friday before Christmas is known for spoof or humorous articles^[9][10] (though mainstream media often fall for the joke).^[9][11]

Editions[link]

BMJ has four paper editions (which have the same content but different advertising):

• General Practice edition for general practitioners
• Clinical Research edition for hospital doctors
• International edition for overseas subscribers
• Compact Edition for retired members of the British Medical Association

There is also a monthly Student BMJ with content tailored towards medical students and junior doctors. Some of the international editions are also available in local languages. BMJ's global clinical online community is doc2doc.

Functioning of the journal[link]

BMJ has an open peer review system, wherein authors are told who reviewed their manuscript. About half the original articles are rejected after review in-house.^[12] Manuscripts chosen for peer review are first reviewed by external experts, who comment on the importance and suitability for publication, before the final decision on a manuscript is made by the editorial ("hanging") committee. The acceptance rate is less than 7% for original research articles.^{[citation needed]}

Indexing and citations[link]

BMJ is included in the major indexes PubMed, MEDLINE, EBSCO, and the Science Citation Index. The most recent impact factor of the journal was 13.66 in 2009,^[13] ranking it fifth in the category "general and internal medical journals". The journal has long criticized the misuse of the impact factor to award grants and recruit researchers by academic institutions.^[14]

The five journals that as of 2008^[update] have cited BMJ most often are (in order of descending citation frequency) BMJ, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, The Lancet, BMC Public Health, and BMC Health Services Research.^[15]

As of 2008^[update], the five journals that have been cited most frequently by articles published in BMJ are BMJ, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.^[15]

Most cited articles[link]

According to the Web of Science,^[15] the following articles have been cited the most often:

1. Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM, Dietz WH (2000). "Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey". British Medical Journal 320 (7244): 1240–1243. DOI:10.1136/bmj.320.7244.1240. PMC 27365. PMID 10797032. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/abridged/320/7244/1240. 
2. Baigent C, Sudlow C, Collins R, Peto R (2002). "Collaborative meta-analysis of randomised trials of antiplatelet therapy for prevention of death, myocardial infarction, and stroke in high risk patients". British Medical Journal 324 (7329): 71–86. DOI:10.1136/bmj.324.7329.71. PMC 64503. PMID 11786451. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7329/71. 
3. Stratton IM, Adler AI, Neil HAW, Matthews DR, Manley SE, Cull CA, Hadden D, Turner RC, Holman RR (2000). "Association of glycaemia with macrovascular and microvascular complications of type 2 diabetes (UKPDS 35): prospective observational study". British Medical Journal 321 (7258): 405–412. DOI:10.1136/bmj.321.7258.405. PMC 27454. PMID 10938048. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7258/405. 

BMJ website and access policies[link]

BMJ went fully online in 1995 and has archived all its issues on the web. In addition to the print content, supporting material for original research articles, additional news stories, and electronic letters to the editors are its principal attractions. The BMJ website has the policy of publishing most e-letters to the journal, called Rapid Responses,^[16] and is shaped like a fully moderated Internet forum. However, concerns remain, even among the web editors of the journal, that this feature may be abused by correspondents who might not want to contribute anything substantial to the topic under discussion.^[17]

From 1999, all content of BMJ was freely available online; however, in 2006 this changed to a subscription model. Original research articles continue to be available freely, but from January 2006, all other 'added value' contents, including clinical reviews and editorials, require a subscription. Access restrictions are lifted a year after publication. BMJ allows complete free access for visitors from economically disadvantaged countries as part of the HINARI initiative.

On October 14, 2008, BMJ announced it would become an open access journal. This only refers to their research articles. To view other articles, a subscription is required.^[1]

Other services[link]

BMJ has a weekly online newsletter available called "What's New Online" which summarises activity on BMJ.com and is available to anyone who registers on the website bmj.com.

BMJ iPad app[link]

In January 2011, the BMJ launched an iPad app version of the journal. The app combines the weekly BMJ print journal selection of research, comment, and education, along with feeds of news, blogs, podcasts, and videos to appear on bmj.com.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Online archive
• Doc2Doc
• Alerts

Brian Deer
Brian Deer at a Westminster Skeptics meeting
Nationality	British
Education	University of Warwick
Occupation	Investigative journalist
Notable credit(s)	Investigative reporting on medical issues and the pharmaceutical industry
Website
http://briandeer.com

Brian Deer is a British investigative reporter, best known for inquiries into the drug industry, medicine and social issues for the Sunday Times of London.

Career[link]

After graduating in philosophy from the University of Warwick, he became editor and press officer for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and was a member of The Leveller magazine collective. Subsequently he joined The Times, then The Sunday Times, first as a business news subeditor and then as a staff news reporter and feature writer.^[1] In the 1980s, under Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil, he was the UK's first social affairs correspondent,^[2] and between 1990 and 1992 reported from the United States.

Investigations[link]

One of Deer's early investigations caused uproar in the drug industry when in 1986 he revealed that research into the safety of the contraceptive pill was fabricated at Deakin University, Australia, by scientist Professor Michael Briggs, employed by the German company Schering AG.^[3] In 1994, his investigation of The Wellcome Trust led to the withdrawal in the UK of a blockbuster antibiotic, Septrin, Bactrim, and the sale of the trust's pharmaceutical subsidiary Wellcome Foundation.^[4] In 2005, the withdrawal of the Merck painkiller Vioxx was followed by an investigation by Deer into the British medical chiefs^{[clarification needed – what does this opaque term denote?]} behind the drug's introduction.^[5] In 2008, a celebrity psychiatrist, Raj Persaud, was suspended from practising medicine and resigned his academic position after being found guilty of plagiarism following a Deer investigation.^[6][7]

MMR vaccine controversy[link]

In a series of reports^[8] between 2004^[9] and 2010,^[10] Deer investigated concerns over the MMR vaccine, their publication in The Lancet medical journal in February 1998, and their chief proponent Andrew Wakefield. Deer's investigation^[11] led to the longest-ever inquiry^[12] by the UK General Medical Council. In January 2010, the GMC judged Wakefield to be "dishonest", "unethical" and "callous",^[13] and on 24 May 2010, he was struck off the UK medical register. Responding to Deer's findings, The Lancet partially retracted Wakefield's research in February 2004,^[14] and fully retracted it in February 2010 following the GMC findings.^[15][16] In 2011, Deer published his findings in the BMJ^[17] with an endorsement by the editors.^[18]

Deer's television documentary: "MMR: What they didn't tell you",^[19] a one-hour Dispatches documentary for Channel 4, first broadcast 18 November 2004, became the core subject of a libel case. Wakefield, who initiated the case, eventually dropped it, becoming liable for the costs incurred by Deer and the other defendants.^[20] Deer's documentary "The drug trial that went wrong",^[21] nominated for a Royal Television Society journalism award, investigated the experimental monoclonal antibody TGN1412.

Honours[link]

Working for The Times and The Sunday Times Deer received several awards, including a British Press Award for his investigations.^[1]

Deer was the 2009 Susan B Meister lecturer in child health policy at the University of Michigan.^[22]

In February 2011, he was nominated for two further British Press Awards, in the categories of news reporter of the year and specialist journalist of the year, the latter of which he won on 5 April 2011.^[23][24][25]

In October 2011, Deer won the annual HealthWatch award, previously awarded to Sir Iain Chalmers, Professor David Colquhoun, and other prominent British medical campaigners.^[26]

References[link]

External links[link]

• briandeer.com - Deer's personal website
• Radio interview with Brian Deer on the MMR vaccine controversy from CBC Radio's The Sunday Edition

Sir James Young Simpson, Bt
James Simpson
Born	7 June 1811 Bathgate, West Lothian
Died	6 May 1870 (aged 58) Edinburgh
Known for	Use of chloroform as anaesthetic

Sir James Young Simpson, 1st Baronet (7 June 1811 – 6 May 1870) was a Scottish doctor and an important figure in the history of medicine. Simpson discovered the anaesthetic properties of chloroform and successfully introduced it for general medical use.

Early life[link]

James Simpson was born in Bathgate,^[1] West Lothian, the youngest of seven children, Thomas, John, Alexander, David, George (died young), and a sister Mary. His parents were Mary Jarvey (also known as Jarvie) and David Simpson, originally a baker in Bathgate who became an accountant in the Bathgate branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland.^[2] James received his initial education at the local school, but because of his obvious abilities his father and brothers (his mother died when he was 9) together paid for a college education and he entered the University of Edinburgh when he was 14 years old. He became a Licentiate in 1830 before graduating in 1832. He was appointed Professor of Midwifery (which would now be called Obstetrics) at the University of Edinburgh and physician to Queen Victoria.

Simpson's name at birth was "James Simpson", as recorded at his baptism on 30 June. It is unknown why he formally adopted the middle name "Young". One theory is that, as a very young professor, he was flaunting his youth in front of his older peers or alternatively that he was known by the affectionate nickname of "Young Simpson" and decided to incorporate it into his name.

Career[link]

Simpson completed final examination at the age of 18 but, as he was so young, had to wait two years before he got his licence to practise medicine. At the age of 28 he was appointed to the Chair of Medicine and Midwifery at the University of Edinburgh. He improved the design of obstetric forceps and, like Semmelweis, fought against the contagion of puerperal sepsis. His most noted contribution was the introduction of anaesthesia to childbirth.

52 Queen Street

A free thinker by most accounts, Simpson's intellectual interests ranged from archaeology to an almost taboo subject at the time: hermaphroditism. He was a very early advocate of the use of midwives in the hospital environment. Many prominent women also consulted him for their gynaecological problems.

It was his achievements and wide ranging interests that led to his town house at 52 Queen Street, Edinburgh being a gathering point for many members of society, especially intellectual free thinkers. His impish sense of humour got the better of him on at least one of these occasions when he seated a Southern U.S. slave owner next to a freed slave at the dinner table. Since this town house was fairly busy at times, Simpson preferred to keep his wife and children at their country house near Bathgate.

Obstetric anaesthesia[link]

Sir James Young Simpson statue, West Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

Sir Humphry Davy used the first anaesthetic in 1799, nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Robert Liston's ether was initially dismissed as an anaesthetic because it irritated the lungs of the patients. In 1847, Simpson discovered the properties of chloroform during an experiment with friends in which he learnt that it could be used to put one to sleep. Dr Simpson and two of his friends, Drs Keith and Duncan used to sit every evening in Dr Simpson's dining room to try new chemicals to see if they had any anaesthetic effect. On 4 November 1847 they decided to try a ponderous material named chloroform that they had previously ignored. On inhaling the chemical they found that a general mood of cheer and humour had set in. But suddenly all of them collapsed only to regain consciousness the next morning. Simpson knew, as soon as he woke up, that he had found something that could be used as an anaesthetic. They soon had Miss Petrie, Simpson's niece, try it. She fell asleep soon after inhaling it while singing the words, "I am an angel!".^[3] It was very much up to chance that Simpson survived the chloroform dosage he administered to himself. If he had inhaled too much, subsequently passing away from an overdose, chloroform would have been seen as a dangerous substance. However, if Simpson had inhaled slightly less it would not have put him to sleep. It was his willingness to explore the possibilities of the substance that established his career as a pioneer in the field of medicine.

Death and memorials[link]

Memorial plaque in St. Giles, Edinburgh

Simpson was created a Baronet, of Strathavon in the County of Linlithgow, and of the City of Edinburgh, in 1866.^[4] He died at his home in Edinburgh in May 1870 at the age of fifty-eight. A burial spot in Westminster Abbey was offered to his family, but they declined and instead buried him closer to home in Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh.^[5] However, a memorial bust can be found in a niche at Westminster Abbey in London. On the day of Simpson's funeral, a Scottish holiday was declared, including the banks and stock markets, with over 100,000 citizens lining the funeral cortege on its way to the cemetery, while over 1,700 colleagues and business leaders took part in the procession itself.

Today, the town house at 52 Queen Street is called Simpson House. It is the premises for a charity of the same name which provides a counselling service for adults and children affected by alcohol and drug use ^[6]. There is a plaque on the wall outside to mark the house as having been the home of James Young Simpson from 1845 to 1870.

The Quartermile development, which consists of the Old Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, named its main residential street Simpson Loan in his honour.

See also[link]

Simpson family grave (marked by the tall obelisk), Warriston Cemetery, Edinburgh

• Charles Thomas Jackson
• Crawford Long
• William T. G. Morton
• Douglas Maclagan
• Horace Wells

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Sir James Young Simpson

• Baillie TW (August 2004). "Hans Christian Andersen's visit to James Young Simpson". Scottish Medical Journal 49 (3): 112–3. PMID 15462230. 
• Ball C (December 1996). "James Young Simpson, 1811–1870". Anaesthesia and Intensive Care 24 (6): 639. PMID 8971309. 
• CHALMERS JA (February 1963). "James Young SIMPSON and the "suction-tractor"". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire 70: 94–100. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1963.tb04184.x. PMID 14019913. 
• Cohen J (November 1996). "Doctor James Young Simpson, Rabbi Abraham De Sola, and Genesis Chapter 3, verse 16". Obstetrics and Gynecology 88 (5): 895–8. DOI:10.1016/0029-7844(96)00234-7. PMID 8885936. 
• Dunn PM (May 2002). "Sir James Young Simpson (1811–1870) and obstetric anaesthesia". Archives of Disease in Childhood. Fetal and Neonatal Edition 86 (3): F207–9. DOI:10.1136/fn.86.3.F207. PMC 1721404. PMID 11978757. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1721404. 
• Eustace DL (November 1993). "James Young Simpson: the controversy surrounding the presentation of his Air Tractor (1848–1849)". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 86 (11): 660–3. PMC 1294227. PMID 8258804. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1294227. 
• Gaskell E (May 1970). "Three letters by Sir James Young Simpson". British Medical Journal 2 (5706): 414–6. DOI:10.1136/bmj.2.5706.414. PMC 1700310. PMID 4911888. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1700310. 
• Gordon, B. Laing (1897). Sir James Young Simpson & Chloroform 1811–1870. London: T. Fischer Unwin. OCLC 11397269. 
• Gunn AL (March 1968). "James Young Simpson—the complete gynaecologist". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth 75 (3): 249–63. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1968.tb02074.x. PMID 4868187. 
• Hill B (May 1970). "Towards the conquest of pain: Sir James Y. Simpson, Bt, M.D. (1811–1870)". The Practitioner 204 (223): 724–9. PMID 4914462. 
• Kellar RJ (October 1966). "Sir James Young Simpson: victo dolore". Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 12 (1): 1–13. PMID 5341756. 
• Kennedy C (October 1966). "Sir James Young Simpson--"the splendid ultimate triumph"". Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 12 (1): 14–23. PMID 5341755. 
• Kennedy C (June 1966). "Sir James Young Simpson--"the splendid ultimate triumph"". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth 73 (3): 364–71. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1966.tb05176.x. PMID 5329917. 
• Keys TE (1973). "Sir James Young Simpson (1811–1870)". Anesthesia and Analgesia 52 (4): 562. DOI:10.1213/00000539-197307000-00015. PMID 4577696. 
• Kyle RA, Shampo MA (April 1997). "James Young Simpson and the introduction of chloroform anesthesia in obstetric practice". Mayo Clinic Proceedings 72 (4): 372. PMID 9121187. 
• Matsuki A (October 1981). "Recent findings in the history of anesthesiology (15)--James Young Simpson [Recent findings in the history of anesthesiology (15)--James Young Simpson]" (in Japanese). Masui 30 (10): 1142–6. PMID 7035712. 
• McGowan SW (December 1997). "Sir James Young Simpson Bart. 150 years on". Scottish Medical Journal 42 (6): 185–7. PMID 9507600. 
• MILLER D (February 1962). "Sir James Young SIMPSON". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire 69: 142–50. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1962.tb00025.x. PMID 14035991. 
• Peck P (September 1961). "Doctors afield: Sir James Y. SIMPSON". The New England Journal of Medicine 265 (10): 486–7. DOI:10.1056/NEJM196109072651009. PMID 13733828. 
• Pinkerton JH (June 1982). "Sir James Young Simpson: Irish influences". Irish Medical Journal 75 (6): 183–7. PMID 7050008. 
• Simpson, Eve Blantyre, (1896), Sir James Y. Simpson, Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson and Ferrier, ("Famous Scots Series").
• Simpson, Myrtle (1972). Simpson, the obstetrician: a biography. London: Gollancz. ISBN 978-0-575-01368-1. OCLC 489148. 
• Speert, Harold (1958). Obstetric and Gynecologic Milestones. New York: Macmillan. OCLC 222038266. 
• Conacher ID (February 1998). "Why the Y?". British Journal of Anaesthesia 80 (2): 271–2. DOI:10.1093/bja/80.2.271-a. PMID 9602606. 
• Secher O (November 1972). "Hans Andersen and James Young Simpson". British Journal of Anaesthesia 44 (11): 1212–6. DOI:10.1093/bja/44.11.1212. PMID 4567093. 
• Speert H (October 1957). "Obstetrical-gynecological eponyms: James Young Simpson and his obstetric forceps". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Empire 64 (5): 744–9. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1957.tb08472.x. PMID 13476274. 
• Taylor CW (April 1965). "Lawson Tait – A Grateful Pupil of James Young Simpson". The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth 72 (2): 165–71. DOI:10.1111/j.1471-0528.1965.tb01411.x. PMID 14273091. 
• Waserman M (January 1980). "Sir James Y Simpson and London's "conservative and so curiously prejudiced" Dr Ramsbotham". British Medical Journal 280 (6208): 158–61. DOI:10.1136/bmj.280.6208.158. PMC 1600358. PMID 6986947. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1600358. 
• "Classic articles in colonic and rectal surgery. James Young Simpson 1811–1870". Diseases of the Colon and Rectum 25 (6): 611–22. September 1982. PMID 6749456. 
• "James Young Simpson and the conquest of pain". The Medical Journal of Australia 1 (19): 925–6. May 1970. PMID 4912314. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: James Young Simpson

• Overview of Sir James Young Simpson
• Papers of Sir James Young Simpson (1811–1870)
• Significant Scots entry
• Who Named It? Entry (well laid out)
• PAPERS OF Sir James Young Simpson The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
• Britannica online entry for Sir James
• Undiscovered Scotland entry for James Young Simpson
• "Sir James Young Simpson" 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica entry
• Entry featuring his gynecological contributions
• West Lothian council memorial to Sir James