University of South Alabama Biomedical Library

PATHFINDER: Index Medicus

Location: Reference Areas (2nd floor at Campus Site; Near Circulation Desk at UMC Site) of the Biomedical Library.

These print indexes are available to all patrons of the library, including non-USA users.

To find a citation on a certain subject use the Medical Subject Headings to find the correct subject heading. Locate the heading in the Subject Index , and look under the subheading for citations which best suit your inquiry. The Index Medicus is used locate articles in the medical journal literature. It indexes only journal literature, no books or other material types, such as videotapes. At the end of each year, the contents of the monthly issues of author and subject listings are sorted alphabetically and re-issued in hard bound volumes called the Cumulated Index Medicus. These titles will be referred to as IM (Index Medicus) and CIM (Cumulated Index Medicus) for brevity.

IM and CIM are divided into five sections:

List of Journals Indexed (LJI): This provides separate listings of the journals indexed by their titles and title abreviations. It is published as a separate piece of IM and current copies are available in the reference areas of both Biomedical Library locations, and at the Circulation Desk at the Campus Site as well. In CIM it is published as part of Volume 1. The library staff has a notebook available with USA Biomedical Library holdings from this list.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): MeSH is also published as a separate volume in IM and share Volume 1 of CIM with the LJI. Listed are the terms used by the National Library of Medicine to index the literature in any index or database it publishes. They constitute a "controlled vocabulary", meaning they are used in place of other closely related or synonymous terms. If your topic has no listing in the subject index, use MeSH to see if a heading has been assigned. Chances are you will find a "see" reference guiding you to the correct heading.
Subject Index: This is the largest volume of IM and the largest section of CIM. The MeSH terms are placed in alphabetical order followed by the journal article citations indexed to them. The articles indexed to each MeSH term are subdivided by subheading. For example, diseases will be subdivided by subheadings like diagnosis, epidemiology and therapy. Specific drugs will have subheadings such as adverse effects, toxicity, and poisoning.
Author Index: This is an alphabetic list by the authors' last name. Articles are indexed to the primary author (those listed first in the article citation). Secondary authors are listed with a "see" reference to the primary author. The first ten authors are included in IM and CIM.
Bibliography of Medical Reviews: Medical reviews are articles which discuss a body of research on a subject. They "review" the research found in the literature about diseases, treatments, equipment, and other concerns in the state of the art. This section is found at end of the author volume in the monthly IM, and comprises the entire last volume of the annual CIM. It is indexed by MeSH.
Note: The 2000 edition of Index Medicus is the last one to have a cummulated yearly index. Although the printed monthly updates will continue, the Vol. 41, 2000 cummulated edition of the NLM publication will be the last printed.

 

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The URL for this page is http://southmed.usouthal.edu/library/ref/pathfinders/rfim.htm
Last Update 11/18/02
To make comments, suggestions, or get more information, send email to medlib@bbl.usouthal.edu or call (334) 460-7045.