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errors

A M P M
error
Whenever we use AM or PM, it should be preceded by a space, e.g. 4 PM.
Message
Use 'AM' or 'PM' (preceded by a space).
Adjectival Hyphens
error
Adjectival hyphens are only required when the adjective ends with the same letter as the definition, e.g. trans-sphenoidal c.f. transependymal.
Exceptions
pseudo-severe
pre-radiographic
non-radiographic
(pre|post)-contrast
(pre|post)-op
(pre|post)-operative
Message
Only use medical adjectival hyphens where the letters at the end and start of the compound word are the same, e.g. post-transplant. In this case, don't use the hyphen: '%s'.
Between And
error
Never use the range desscription `between 3 to 5`, we should always use `between x and y`. This style matches any words or numbers in this form.
Message
'%s' should use between ... and ...
Biographical Date Format
error
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly formatted. We allow (yyyy-yyyy), (yyyy-), (fl. yyyy)
Message
In a biographical citation, the date be correctly formatted: '%s'
Biographical Date Position
error
In a biographical citation, the date should never be bold.
Message
In a biographical citation, the date should never be bold: '%s'
Biographical Date Spacing
error
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly spaced with the spacing being outside the bold tags.
Message
In a biographical citation, the date should be correctly spaced: '%s'
Biographical Name
error
In a biographical citation, the name should be formatted correctly, e.g. not have spaces between initials.
Message
In a biographical citation, the name should be formatted correctly: '%s'
Citation Order
error
Ensure that citations are ordered correctly.
Message
Citations must appear in numeric order.
Citation Preceding Space
error
Ensure that there is a space before a citation definition.
Message
Citations must have a preceding space, e.g. needs evidence <sup>2</sup>. '%s'
Citation Punctuation Space
error
Ensure that there is never a space between a citation and following punctuation.
Message
Citations should not have spaces between themselves and punctuation. '%s'
Citation Punctuation Sup
error
Ensure that punctuation is never superscripted
Message
Punctuation after citations should never be superscripted. '%s'
Citation Syntax
error
Ensure that syntax is correct. Citations should have ranges over 2 specified as a dash - everything else should be separated by a comma.
Message
Citations are separated by commas, except when the range is over 2.
Contractions
error
We should always use full words over contractions, e.g. "do not" rather than "don't".
Message
Never use contractions: use '%s' in place of '%s'.
Date Format
error
Use the correct date format when dates are used.
Message
Use '31 July, 2022' format, not '%s'.
Em Dash
error
Do not use em-dashes. We use a hyphen with a space on either side instead.
Message
Don't use em-dashes, replace them with spaces either side of a hyphen-minus
En Dash
error
Do not use en-dashes. We use a hyphen (minus-hyphen) instead.
Message
Use an minus-hypen ('-') instead of an en-dash '—'.
Exclamation
error
Never use exclamation points in text.
Message
Don't use exclamation points in text.
Heading Punctuation
error
Never put punctuation at the end of headings.
Message
Do not put punctuation at the end of a heading.
Headings Spacing
error
Headings should never have spaces on either end.
Message
Never put spaces at either end of headings.
List Punctuation
error
List items should not have full-stops at the end.
Exceptions
etc
spp
Message
Do not put full stops at the end of a list item.
Number Comparisons
error
Use correct spacing around < and > signs.
Message
There should never be a space after less and greater than signs.
Number Spacing
error
Ensure the correct spacing around hyphens used to denote number ranges. There should be no spaces.
Message
In a number range, there should not be spaces around the hyphen ('%s').
Optional Plurals
error
Ensure that optional pleurals are not denoted using (s).
Message
Do not use plurals in parentheses such as in '%s'.
Periods
error
Periods should be use to end sentences, not after acronyms or initials, e.g. Dr.
Message
Don't use periods with acronyms or initialisms such as '%s'.
Quotes
error
Commas and periods go outside quotation marks (in nearly all circumstances).
Message
Commas and periods go outside quotation marks (in nearly all circumstances).
So
error
Don't start a sentence with So.
Message
Don't start a sentence with '%s'.
Spacing
error
Ensures that there are no double spaces and there is correct spacing around punctuation.
Message
'%s' should have one space.
Spinal Level Spacing
error
When we are describing spinal levels, we should not have spaces around the hyphen, e.g. T4-5 not T4 - 5.
Message
'%s' should not have spaces around the hyphen for spinal levels.
Strong List Colon Position
error
When enboldening an intro, the colon should not be bold.
Message
When enboldening an intro, the colon should not be bold. '%s'
Uncomparables
error
There are a lot of words that should not be used to compared thing... this checks for them.
Message
'%s' is not comparable
Units
error
There should always be a space between a number and its unit, e.g. 1 cm not 1cm.
Exceptions
Tc-99m
99m-methyl
technetium-99m
H3K27m.*
Message
Put a space between the number and the unit in '%s'.

warnings

Acronyms
warning
When using acronyms, we need to ensure that either they are very common (e.g. CT or MRI), or have been spelled out for the audience earlier in the article. This may be with the acronym as the main word, or in brackets, e.g. PRES (posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome) or Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM). The rule is pretty clever at working out compound words (e.g. encephalomyeltitis is the E and M in ADEM), but it isn't flawless (yet).
Message
'%s' has no definition. Spell it out if it's unfamiliar to the audience.
Colons
warning
Check all colons and ensure that the next word does not start with a capital letter. There are exceptions including NB, roman numerals, valid acronyms and Proper nouns (e.g. a disease like Down syndrome) etc.
Exceptions
NB\. ?.*
M*(C[MD]|D?C{0,3})(X[CL]|L?X{0,3})(I[XV]|V?I{0,3})[MDCLXVI]{1,}\b.*
\b[A-Z]\w* (syndrome|complex|disease|sign|classification)
\b([A-Z\-]{3,})\b
CT
Message
The first word after a colon should almost always be lowercase. In this case, it's not: '%s'.
Ellipses
warning
Never use ellipsis...
Message
Don't use an ellipsis... in written text.
Emphasis
warning
Italics are only used in very specific places and should avoid outside those situations. They are used to describe Organisms, but not species and also to describe genes, but not the proteins they create. Organisms are added to a list of exceptions. Genes are assumed when the emphasied content is followed by the word gene
Exceptions
[Ee](scherichia|\.) coli
[Pp]neumocystis jiroveci pneumonia
[Ss]almonella
PTPN11
SOS1
KRAS
RAF1
NRAS
SHOC2
Message
Italics should be used only in exceptional circumstances: '%s'
Greater Less Than Equal To
warning
Use the combined greater than and less than equal to signs.
Message
Use the combined greater than and less than equal to signs: use '%s' instead of '%s'.
Headings Case
warning
Heading capitalisation should be in sentence-style. The exception is allowed acronyms and acronyms in brackets.
Exceptions
CT
[A-Z]{3,}
Message
'%s' should use sentence-style capitalization.
Headings Valid
warning
Headings needs to be from the list of valid headings, be correctly nested and in the right order. Work in progress.
Message
Headings needs to be from the list of valid headings, be correctly nested and in the right order.
Illusions
warning
Looks for repetition.
Message
'%s' is repeated!
Latin
warning
The correct usage of latin terms should be adhered to.
Message
Use appropriate Latin forms: '%s' rather than '%s'.
List Caps
warning
List items should not start with a capital letter. There are some exceptions including acronyms, white-listed capitalisation and spinal level notation.
Exceptions
[A-Z]\w*\S* (?i:medal|prize)
[A-Z]\w*(?:[\S])* (syndrome|complex|disease|sign|classification)
[CTDLS][1-9]{1,2}([-,][1-9]{1,2})?
M*(C[MD]|D?C{0,3})(X[CL]|L?X{0,3})(I[XV]|V?I{0,3})[MDCLXVI]{1,}(?:[a-z])?
[A-Z]\w* (gene|mutation)
Marfan
Roentgen
Nobel
Sprengel
Takayasu
Hashimoto
Kommerell
Wilms?
Philadelphia
MIBG
Tc-99m
FDG.*
N-Myc.*
TRK-A.*
Graves
TSH
Message
In general, we don't start a list item with a capital letter. Exceptions are proper nouns.
Litotes
warning
Looks for common negated words that mean other things, e.g. no minor instead of major.
Message
Consider using '%s' instead of '%s'
Numbers Over10000
warning
Using a comma to separate thousands in large numbers over 10,000 is helpful for readability.
Message
Use a thousands separators for large numbers.
Oxford Comma
warning
Ensure that where sensible, the Oxford comma is used.
Exceptions
chest, abdomen and pelvis
Message
Use the Oxford comma in '%s'.
Pending
warning
Message
Complete the content for content pending sections
Ranges
warning
Don't add words such as 'from' or 'between' to describe a range of numbers.
Message
Don't add words such as 'from' or 'between' to describe a range of numbers.
Spinal Level Format
warning
This rule looks for duplication of spinal level in the second reference of a spinal level, e.g. T2-T3.
Message
Consider removing the duplication of spinal level in the second reference '%s'.
Strong
warning
We have very specific rules about when we use bold.
Message
Generally, don't use bold in text: '%s'

suggestions

Biographical Lifespan
suggestion
If there is a strong element in the History and etymology section, then it should be a person and when we mention people, we should include their lifespan details.
Message
A bold element in the History and etymology section should be a person; it would be useful to have their lifespan details: '%s'
Commas
suggestion
Check whether there are more than 5 commas in a sentence and warn that it might make reading more difficult.
Message
More than 5 commas in a single sentence might make it more difficult to read.
Hidden Space
suggestion
Look for a hidden non-breaking space in the HTML (&nbsp;)
Message
There is a hidden non-breaking space in the HTML (&nbsp;). These should be avoided
Inline E G
suggestion
Sometimes, replacing a terminal e.g. in brackets with an inline e.g. after a comma works well.
Message
Consider replacing a bracketed e.g. with an inline e.g. after a comma.
M R I Vendor Sequences
suggestion
It would be best to steer clear of manufacturer-specific MRI sequence names, e.g. FISP, DRIVE.
Message
'%s' is an MRI-manufacturer-specific sequence, try to avoid using these.
Parentheses
suggestion
Using lots of parentheses in text can reduce readability. Warn when more than 3 are used in a text block.
Message
Use parentheses judiciously. There are at least 3 sets in this paragraph.
Semicolons
suggestion
Use semicolons judiciously.
Message
Use semicolons judiciously.
There Is
suggestion
Don't start a sentence with "There is" or equivalent!
Message
Don't start a sentence with '%s'.