Global trends and insights in ethical statements regarding the utilization of human cadaveric tissues for biomechanical research from 2017 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis

Human cadaveric tissues are essential for biomechanical research, however, omitting statements regarding the ethical implications remains very common in many recent articles of biomechanics. We systematically searched PubMed for research articles published from 2017 to 2022 to identify all relevant studies (n=1850). Information on the characteristics of the cadaveric specimens and the acquisition of ethical approval was collected. The included articles were categorized as grade A (n=757), grade B (n=308), and grade C (n=785) according to our predetermined criteria. Additionally, we analyzed whether the reporting status of ethical approval varied based on publishing year, journals, regions, and research settings. No significant improvement was observed over the study period. Disparities in ethical reporting standards were identified among different regions and journals. This is the first bibliometric analysis that offers an overview of publications in biomechanical research that use human cadaveric samples. It serves as a reference for interested researchers and journal readers to discuss the associated ethical issues.