医学研究论文并非是文学巨著，但却是高效和有效地进行学术交流的载体。清晰、简练和简洁是其关键特征。

下面是关于医学研究论文写作的一些基本原则：

• 谨慎地使用词汇，不使用不必要的词语
• 从读者的角度出发来写，不浪费读者任何时间
• 尽量使用短句、陈述句，一个简单的原则是每句话不超过22个单词
  “英文句子简单而直接，则最清晰、有力、易于理解。”——Mimi Zeiger, Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers, 2d edition
• 避免冗杂和重复
  • 勿在结果部分的数据中逐字重复以表格或图形呈现的结果
    例如：
    表1：Patients’ biographical data (age, sex, weight, and BMI) are given.
    结果：这些数据(age, sex, weight, and BMI)被再次提及时，仅仅写成“Patients’ biographical data are presented in Table 1.”就已经足够了。再例如写成“The two populations did not differ in these criteria.”也是可以的。
  • 勿在讨论部分逐字重复结果部分给出的结果
    例如：
    结果部分：“The median follow-up time from surgery was (33.3±14.0) months in the elderly group and (33.0±12.7) months in the nonelderly group (P=0.266).”
    讨论部分：相较于这样写：“We found that the median follow-up time from surgery was (33.3±14.0) months in the elderly group and (33.0±12.7) months in the nonelderly group (P=0.266).”可以更好地表述为：“We found that mean follow-up time from surgery was nearly identical (about 33 months) in the two study groups.”
  • 勿在讨论部分重复在引言部分中给出的背景信息
    引言部分：“Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality, with a five-year survival rate below 5%.”
    讨论部分：“Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. Its five-year survival rate is below 5%.”讨论中应该删除这两个重复的句子。
• 不必要的词，例如：
  • “It is well known that diabetes affects millions of people.”
    如果是众所周知的事情就没有必要再加以说明。所以，这样写就足够了：“Diabetes affects millions of people”.
  • “Similar results have been reported previously in the literature.”
    “Reported”指的就是过去，所以“reported previously”就是多余的. “In the literature”也是不必要的，因为这也是隐含的意思。可以更好地表述为: “Similar results have been reported (文献).”
  • “It has been reported by others.” “By others”是不必要的。这样表述就足够了： “It has been reported (文献)”.
  • “Upon review of the literature we found that diabetic neuropathy has been described often.” “Upon review or the literature” 是不必要的。可以更好地表述为: “Diabetic neuropathy has been described often (文献).”
  • “When comparing x with y we found that x was bigger than y.
    “Comparing x with y”是不必要的。表述为“We found that x was bigger than y”就足够了.
  • “There is” 和 “there are” 是较弱的表达。例如: “There are many investigators who disagree with this opinion.” 可以更好地表述为: “Many investigators disagree with this opinion.”
  • 尺寸、颜色和形状通常表述是多余的。例如：
    “Blue in color.” 使用“Blue” 就足够了。
    “Large in size.” 使用“Large” 就足够了。
    “Oval in shape.” 使用“Oval” 就足够了。
  • “The lesion was successfully excised.” 一个病灶是无法切除失败的。这样表述是正确的：“The lesion was excised.”
  • 尽量使用动词而非名词。“The surgeons made the decision to operate.” 可以更好地表述为: “The surgeons decided to operate.”
• 避免详尽地回顾文献和相关参考资料。原始的研究论文并非是回顾性的文章。限制文献的数目，只引用那些与现在研究相关的文献。
• 花时间检查你的工作。大声读出来，或者最好，搁置几天或几周之后再重读它。你会惊奇地发现出现了许多不必要的单词或者句子。

“如果我有更多的时间，我宁愿写一封更短的信。”此句一般认为出自于温斯顿•丘吉尔。

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