The use of PubMed/Medline in psychiatry. 1: Presentation of NLM and PubMed

A comprehensive view of the available literature on a psychiatric problem can be found in the large electronic databases. Medline at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in USA is the largest medical database. PubMed is the searchable database at the NLM, having Medline as its major content. PubMed is free of charge, barrier-free and always accessible via the Internet. This paper describes the NLM, Medline and PubMed. The indexing of scientific papers in Medline is based on Medical Subject Headings, the MeSH terms. The hierarchic tree structure of MeSH is the basis of the search and retrieval system. The present paper is the first in a series of three, intended as a tutorial on the use of PubMed for inexperienced users. Information and examples on the MeSH system, together with exercises in its use, are presented in an appendix.