Ovid Tutorial 2.0
 University of South Alabama Biomedical Library

Selecting the best Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

The MEDLINE database is indexed by subject speacialists who read each article completely, then assign terms to describe the content of the article. The terms come from a standardized list of vocabulary and definitions called MeSH or Medical Subject Headings.

The idea behind MeSH is that all articles about the same concept are assigned the same standardized subject heading, regardless of the exact words or synonyms the author uses.

For example, one author may use the phrase whooping cough, while another may use the word pertussis, but both articles will be indexed under whooping cough, the MeSH term for this disease. The most effective way to search MEDLINE is to use the MeSH terms whenever possible.

How do I know what the MeSH heading is for my topic?


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Last Update:     2/14/02
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