PubMed Tutorial : Overview of PubMed

PubMed Tutorial : Overview of PubMed  Searching Medline on PubMed

Table of Contents
Overview of PubMed | Constructing a Simple Subject Search in PubMed | Modifying a Search | Creating a More Involved Search | Using the Cubby to Save and Reuse Searches | Using PubMed Features | Getting From PubMed to Full Text Articles | Using the Books Link

Links in this web site:
Return Home
PubMed Tutorial
Evidence-based Medicine
Open PubMed in another window
Links in this topic:
Creation of PubMed
Subjects, Databases Included
Literature Types Included
Record Content
Full text Coverage (LinkOut)
Links to Genetic Resources

Overview of PubMed

Creation of PubMed

PubMed was created and is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine.
The original purpose was to support the work of molecular biology and genetics researchers. PubMed is one of many databases integrated in Entrez, the overall system.

Subjects, Databases Included

Earlier versions of the databases integrated into PubMed were produced and sold as separate databases.
The journal citations from the following historically separate databases are currently integrated in PubMed (as of 4/1/2001):
MEDLINE covers journal literature in medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences.
PREMEDLINE includes the very latest citations added to the PubMed database. They have not been completely processed and indexed yet, and will be marked as [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] or [PubMed - in process].
HealthSTAR covers health care management and administration. While historically they were in a separate database, in PubMed no distinction can be seen between MEDLINE and HealthSTAR records.

The journal citations from these databases are scheduled to be added to PubMed by September 2001:
AIDSLINE covers aids/hiv and related topics.
BIOETHICSLINE covers ethics and related public policy issues in health care and biomedical research.
HISTLINE covers history of medicine and related sciences.
POPLINE covers family planning, population law and policy, and primary health care, including maternal/child health in developing countries.

Literature Types Included

Journal literature
4,000+ biomedical journals published in the United States and 70 other countries
No dissertations or books are included in PubMed, but some conference abstracts from a limited time period are.

Record Content

PubMed records that are fully processed contain a citation, abstract, indexing (MeSH terms), identification number for the record, and other fields. For a full list of fields you can search in PubMed, see PubMed Help : Search Field Descriptions and Tags
PubMed is not a full text resource, but provides access to a limited amount of full text material available on the web through its LinkOut feature.

Full Text Linkage (LinkOut)

Some full-text is available free, such at BMJ and PNAS. If available, a link from the PubMed record for an article goes directly to that article on the web.
PubMed Central, is a repository of full-text journal articles maintained by NCBI, available free. The current list of journals available is not extensive.
Libraries and individuals that buy access to electronic journals may have access to some they subscribe to from search results in PubMed. This is dependant on the journal being indexed in PubMed and the journal publisher establishing the linking.
Links will appear for journals that require a subscription, even if you do not have access to them. You cannot tell if a journal is available to you unless you follow the link.
The Loansome Doc feature of PubMed allows the ordering of copies of articles not available to you online through a cooperative arrangement with a participating medical library. This is generally fee-based, with the exact charge varying from library to library.

Links to Genetic Resources

The Entrez system includes the following databases in addition to PubMed:

OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man)
Molecular biology databases, Nucleotide, Protein, Genome, Structure, Popset, and Taxonomy.

There are cross-links between PubMed and the other databases. For example, an article cited in OMIM will be linked to that article's record in PubMed.

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This page was updated on April 17, 2001.
Pages maintained by Barbara Folb folb@pitt.edu

Table of Contents Overview of PubMed \| Constructing a Simple Subject Search in PubMed \| Modifying a Search \| Creating a More Involved Search \| Using the Cubby to Save and Reuse Searches \| Using PubMed Features \| Getting From PubMed to Full Text Articles \| Using the Books Link
Links in this web site: Return Home PubMed Tutorial Evidence-based Medicine Open PubMed in another window Links in this topic: Creation of PubMed Subjects, Databases Included Literature Types Included Record Content Full text Coverage (LinkOut) Links to Genetic Resources	Overview of PubMed Creation of PubMed PubMed was created and is maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine. The original purpose was to support the work of molecular biology and genetics researchers. PubMed is one of many databases integrated in Entrez, the overall system. Subjects, Databases Included Earlier versions of the databases integrated into PubMed were produced and sold as separate databases. The journal citations from the following historically separate databases are currently integrated in PubMed (as of 4/1/2001): MEDLINE covers journal literature in medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical sciences. PREMEDLINE includes the very latest citations added to the PubMed database. They have not been completely processed and indexed yet, and will be marked as [PubMed - as supplied by publisher] or [PubMed - in process]. HealthSTAR covers health care management and administration. While historically they were in a separate database, in PubMed no distinction can be seen between MEDLINE and HealthSTAR records. The journal citations from these databases are scheduled to be added to PubMed by September 2001: AIDSLINE covers aids/hiv and related topics. BIOETHICSLINE covers ethics and related public policy issues in health care and biomedical research. HISTLINE covers history of medicine and related sciences. POPLINE covers family planning, population law and policy, and primary health care, including maternal/child health in developing countries. Literature Types Included Journal literature 4,000+ biomedical journals published in the United States and 70 other countries No dissertations or books are included in PubMed, but some conference abstracts from a limited time period are. Record Content PubMed records that are fully processed contain a citation, abstract, indexing (MeSH terms), identification number for the record, and other fields. For a full list of fields you can search in PubMed, see PubMed Help : Search Field Descriptions and Tags PubMed is not a full text resource, but provides access to a limited amount of full text material available on the web through its LinkOut feature. Full Text Linkage (LinkOut) Some full-text is available free, such at BMJ and PNAS. If available, a link from the PubMed record for an article goes directly to that article on the web. PubMed Central, is a repository of full-text journal articles maintained by NCBI, available free. The current list of journals available is not extensive. Libraries and individuals that buy access to electronic journals may have access to some they subscribe to from search results in PubMed. This is dependant on the journal being indexed in PubMed and the journal publisher establishing the linking. Links will appear for journals that require a subscription, even if you do not have access to them. You cannot tell if a journal is available to you unless you follow the link. The Loansome Doc feature of PubMed allows the ordering of copies of articles not available to you online through a cooperative arrangement with a participating medical library. This is generally fee-based, with the exact charge varying from library to library. Links to Genetic Resources The Entrez system includes the following databases in addition to PubMed: OMIM (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man) Molecular biology databases, Nucleotide, Protein, Genome, Structure, Popset, and Taxonomy. There are cross-links between PubMed and the other databases. For example, an article cited in OMIM will be linked to that article's record in PubMed. Back to Top of the Page

	This page was updated on April 17, 2001. Pages maintained by Barbara Folb folb@pitt.edu