Today is one of those days when restraining ourselves just doesn’t work, and our reputation suddenly is on the line. First was the vagina dialogues story, and now this, as reported by Reuters Health:
A study suggests that dermatology images available online are sometimes being used pruriently. Moreover, pornography and fetish websites seem to be a major source of referral, researchers report in the April issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The thought that DermAtlas, a searchable archive of clinical photography, was being misused first occurred to the curators when they noticed a marked jump in queries for images containing genital sites.
In light of this, lead author Dr. Christoph U. Lehmann and colleagues, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, emphasize that “Anonymous misuse of collaborative archives must be anticipated, addressed and prevented to preserve their integrity and the integrity of the learning communities they support.”
The study does indeed exist: Detection and management of pornography-seeking in an online clinical dermatology atlas
The Reuters Health article…
DermAtlas website…
(hat tip: Rebel Doctor)
