“From 1861 to 1868, The Lancet claimed, in its advertisements in the[Mitchell's] N[ewspaper] P[ress]D[irectory] , to have a ‘far greater circulation’ than that of any other medical or scientific periodical. The British Medical Journal made the same claim when it started advertising in 1870” (Ellegard, Readership of the Periodical Press, p.10).

“The Lancet contributed to public fears and discussions about the use of arsenic in murder cases” (Knelman, Twisting in the Wind, p.52).