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The New England Journal of Medicine

peer-reviewed medical journal

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ582728 ↗
Source-derived summary

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2024 impact factor was 78.5, ranking it 2nd out of 168 journals in the category "Medicine, General & Internal".

History

In September 1811, Boston physician John Collins Warren, along with James Jackson, submitted a formal prospectus to establish the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and Collateral Branches of Science as a medical and philosophical journal. Subsequently, the first issue of the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and the Collateral Branches of Medical Science was published in January 1812. The journal was published quarterly.

In 1823, another publication, the Boston Medical Intelligencer, appeared under the editorship of Jerome V. C. Smith.

In 1828, the editors of the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery and the Collateral Branches of Medical Science purchased the weekly Intelligencer for $600, merging the two publications to form the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, and shifting from quarterly to weekly publication.

In 1921, the Massachusetts Medical Society purchased the Journal for US$1 and, the publication was renamed to The New England Journal of Medicine in 1928.

Logo

The journal's logo depicts the snake-wrapped Rod of Asclepius crossed over a quill pen.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The New England Journal of Medicine” as peer-reviewed medical journal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around England, Journal and Medicine.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1812, 2024, 1811, 1823—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1812, 1928-02-23—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with England, Journal and Medicine providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The New England Journal of Medicine”, the useful work is to connect “peer-reviewed medical journal” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q582728. VIAF identifies the subject as 1035154622385844710006. The Library of Congress control number is n2018190049. 8 of 10 selected statements include explicit references; 4 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1812, 2024, 1811 and 1823.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The New England Journal of Medicine”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The New England Journal of Medicine primary sources, The New England Journal of Medicine archive and England research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The New England Journal of Medicine”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “The New England Journal of Medicine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.