The historical background.

Human guinea pigs and the ethics of experimentation.

Henry K Beecher and Marice Pappworth: Character in the development of modern research ethics.

Extracts from Pappwroth and Beecher.

Learning from unethical research: some recent scandals.

Informed consent: the intricacies.

Psychological support for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery.

Evaluation of a stroke family care worker.

Does HIV status influence the outcome of patients admitted to a surgical intensive care unit?.

Doyal's original.

Tobias' original.

Letters from BMJ relating to the above articles.

Other perspectives.

Thrombolytic treatment for acute ischaemic stroke.

Benatar and Benetar.

Regulating informed consent within medical research.

Medical research and the competent adult.

Clinical research with children.

Clinical research within psychiatry.

Genetic research.

Human reproduction and assisted conception.

Epidemiological research.

Surgical research.

Issue in HIV and STDs.

Human rights.

Clinical trials, informed consent, and the boundaries of therapeutic discretion.

Double standards.

Rights and responsiblities of the individual.

The teacher's perspective.

Healthy volunteers.

The consumer's view.

The role of the effective communication in obtaining informed consent.

Concluding analysis