Figure 2.

These evidence structures illustrate networks in which defining potential inconsistency is not straightforward. Two‐arm trials are shown as lines that stop short of vertices, three‐arm trials as triangles and four‐arm trials as tetrahedrons. (a) A network with one four‐arm and two two‐arm trials, where it is unclear whether loop inconsistency can occur. (b) A more complex network with one four‐arm, two three‐arm, and two two‐arm trials where the dependencies between potential loop inconsistencies are difficult to work out.