Human Research
For research involving human experiments, the article must include a statement that ethical approval was obtained (or a statement that ethical approval was not required and why), including the name of the ethics committee(s) or institutional review board(s), the number/ID of the approval(s), and a statement that the participants gave informed consent before taking part (or a statement that consent was not required and why). Authors should also state that the study conformed to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in Edinburgh 2000), available at:
https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/doh-oct2000.
In line with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Declaration of Helsinki, clinical trials should be prospectively registered before participants are enrolled. Clinical trial registration numbers should be included in all papers that report on clinical trials.
Where illustrations include recognizable individuals, living or deceased, great care must be taken to ensure that consent for publication has been given. Patient anonymity should be preserved. Photographs need to be cropped sufficiently to prevent human subjects from being recognized, and (at a minimum) the eyes and eyebrows must be masked using coarse pixilation to make the individual unrecognizable.
Animal Research
For any experiments involving animals, the authors must indicate the nature of the ethical review permissions, relevant licences (e.g. Animal [Scientific Procedures] Act 1986), and national or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals by which the research was conducted.
Where necessary, the Editorial Office reserves the right to request additional information in relation to experiments featured in a manuscript
