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Plagiarism
John E. Skandalakis, MD, PhD; Petros Mirilas, MD, MSurg
T
he theft of someone’s words or thoughts—plagiarism—has long been a concern in medi-
cal literature. The phenomenon applies to unreferenced published or unpublished data
that belong to someone else, including applications for grants and a publication sub-
mitted in a different language. Other acts of plagiarism are paraphrasing without cred-
iting the source, using “blanket” references, “second-generation” references, and duplicate or re-
petitive publication of one’s own previously published work. Does incorporating a peer reviewer’s
ideas constitute plagiarism? The requirement of many journals for a short list of references is prob-
lematic, as is confusion about what constitutes common knowledge. What criteria should be used
for detecting plagiarism? To make an accusation of plagiarism is serious and perilous. Motivations
for plagiarism are considered, and 2 striking historical examples of plagiarism are summarized.
We believe that with insight into its causes and effects, plagiarism can be eliminated.
Arch Surg. 2004;139:1022-1024
The poet’s eye in a fine frenzy rolling, many investigators and many current En-
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth glish dictionaries3,4 contend that the term
to heaven, plagiarism comes from the Latin plagia-
And, as imagination bodies forth rius, meaning kidnapper. However, in clas-
The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen
sical Latin, plagiarius never refers to a pla-
Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy
nothing giarist; its first use was metaphorical in
A local habitation and a name. Martial’s epigrams5; the next use of this
metaphor was by Lorenzo Valla (Elegan-
Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream tiae, preface of Book 2) to refer to some-
one who used his work.6 Thus, ironi-
cally, the etymology of plagiarism is often
In the above lines, Shakespeare portrays wrongly attributed.
the gift of the poet: the ability to shape As published in the British Journal of
unique thoughts into memorable words on Surgery, the Committee on Publication
paper. The theft of someone’s words or Ethics7 defined plagiarism as follows:
thoughts—plagiarism—has long been a
concern. Historically, Timae1(p1056) attrib- Plagiarism ranges from the unreferenced use
uted the term plagiarism to Empedocles of others’ published and unpublished ideas, in-
cluding research grant applications to submis-
(circa 490-430 BC). At that time the Greek sion under “new” authorship of a complete pa-
word plagios, which denotes obliquity, al- per, sometimes in a different language.
ready had the sense of being “morally It may occur at any stage of planning, re-
crooked, practicing double-talk.”1(p1410) search, writing, or publication: It applies to
(Conversely, in contemporary English us- print and electronic versions.
age, the expression “a straight arrow” in-
dicates moral qualities.2) Nevertheless, Although detailed, the above defini-
tion is not complete. It is evident that there
From the Centers for Surgical Anatomy and Technique, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga are numerous expressions of plagiarism in
(Drs Skandalakis and Mirilas); and the Department of Anatomy and Embryology, more innocent terms, such as presenting
University of Crete Medical School, Heraklion, Crete, Greece (Dr Mirilas). slides for lectures without copyright per-