Information explosion in radiology.

We studied the increase in the number of articles in the radiologic literature in the years 1970, 1978, and 1985 using the Medlars program which provides reproducibility, a recognized bibliographic pool, and a wide coverage of the medical literature. A dramatic increase in the number of articles was found; the increase has both positive and negative implications for the profession. A similar analysis of monographs using the Catline file and the same subject headings also showed a significant increase in the volume of material relating to certain radiologic subspecialties. The problems arising from the attempt to identify and extract relevant information from this overwhelming mass of radiological data should be addressed.