MEDLINE
Why select this database?
- Corresponds to the print indexes Index Medicus, Index to Dental Literature, and International Nursing Index
- Includes thousands of records with substantial abstracts
Subjects included
- clinical medicine
- dentistry
- education
- experimental medicine
- health services administration
- nursing
- nutrition
- pathology
- psychiatry
- toxicology
- veterinary medicine
Database details
| Database name | MEDLINE |
|---|---|
| Short database name | MEDL |
| Available on | FirstSearch, WorldCat Discovery, and WorldCat.org |
| Sources | 19,000+
For more information view: |
| NUMBER OF RECORDS | 30,000,000+ |
| Coverage | Covers 1965 to the present. |
| Update frequency | Daily |
| Producer | U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) |
Indexes
Index labels and search examples
What follows is a list of FirstSearch indexes and the combination of USE and STRUCTURE attributes that can be used to access them.
- For any FirstSearch label where multiple USE attributes are listed all the attributes will provide the exact same search result sets.
- Any USE attribute that is not marked as a restrictor is available via the SCAN service.
- Restrictors are specially implemented indexes and are not available for scanning. Terms for these must be ANDed with other terms to limit the size of the result set. See the table provided for each restrictor to determine valid terms and their associated meaning.
FirstSearch Indexes and USE and STRUCTURE attributes used to access them:
| Index | Description | Use Attribute | Structure Attribute | Indexed Fields and Subfields |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword (kw) | Any | 5110 | 2 | 242/a 245/a 500/a 520/a 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 773/o,t 902/L,m,t |
| Keyword All | Any |
1016 |
2 | 008 100/a 242/a 245/a 500/a 520/a 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 700/a 710/a 773/o,t,x 798/x 902/L,m,t 949/e,g |
| Abstract (ab) | Abstract | 62 | 2 | 520/a 949/p |
| Accession Number (no) | Control number-local | 12 | 2 | 035/a |
| Address (ad) | OCLC Defined | 5100 | 2 | 949/u 953/k |
| Article Type (at=) | Content-type | 1034 | 1, 2 | 949/L |
| Author (au, au=) | Author-name | 1003 | 1, 2,101 | 100/a 700/a 710/a |
| Central Concept (cc) | OCLC Defined | 5659 | 2 | 650/a,m,x |
| Chemical Substance (cs) | OCLC Defined | 5658 | 2 | 697/u,v |
| Citation Owner (ow) | OCLC Defined | 5981 | 2 | 953/e |
| Corporate Author (co=) | Author-name-corporate | 1005 | 1 | 710/a |
| Date of Entry (da) | OCLC Defined | 5040 | 2 | 953/b |
| Division (sb) | OCLC Defined | 5041 | 2 | 953/d |
| Grant Information (gi) | OCLC Defined | 5943 | 2 | 536/c,8,9 |
| Identifiers (id, id=) | Subject-local | 29 | 1, 2 | 902/L,m |
| Issue (is) | OCLC Defined | 5004 | 2 | 949/b |
| Language (ln=) | Code-language | 54 | 1 | 041/a 546/a |
| MeSH Heading (mh, mh=) | Subject-MESH | 25, 5650 | 1, 2 | 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x |
| Molecular Sequence (ms) | OCLC Defined | 5656 | 2 | 696/d |
| Named Person (na=) | Subject-name-personal | 1009 | 1 | 600/a |
| Notes (nt) | Note | 63 | 2 | 500/a 504/b 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 902/t |
| Number References | OCLC Defined | 5931 | 2 | 504/b |
| Page (First) | OCLC Defined | 5006 | 2 | 949/f |
| Place of Publication (pl) | Name-geographic-place-publication | 59 | 2 | 773/c |
| Publication Date (pd) | Date | 30 | 2 | 949/e,g |
| Record Status Phrase (rs=) | OCLC Defined | 5980 | 1 | 953/a |
| Record Type Phrase (rt=) | Material-type | 1031 | 1 | 696/a 953/d |
| Registry Number (rn) | OCLC Defined | 5975 | 2 | 697/v |
| Standard Number (sn, sn=) | Identifier-standard | 1007 | 1, 2 | 060/a 773/x 798/x 953/n |
| Source (so, so=) | Title-host-item | 1033 | 1, 2 | 773/o,t |
| Subheadings MeSH (sh, sh=) | OCLC Defined | 5064 | 1, 2 | 650/m,x 695/m,x |
| Subject (su, su=) | Subject | 21 | 1, 2 | 600/a 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 902/L,m |
| Subject All (sa=) | OCLC Defined | 5090 | 1 | 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x |
| Title (ti, ti=) | Title | 4 | 1, 2 | 242/a 245/a |
| Update date (ud) | Date of last revision | 1012 | 2 | 953/c,o |
| Volume (vo) | OCLC Defined | 5013 | 2 | 949/a |
| Year (yr) | Date-publication | 31 | 2,4,5 | 008 |
Notes on specific indexes
Subject phrase index (su=) and subject all index (sa=): Each portion of the subject heading (e.g., subheading in 650/a,m,x) will be handled as a distinct phrase search. The suggested strategy in searching for records that contain those subheadings is to and those terms together.
Example: 650 #a Kidney Tubules, Collecting #x Metabolism is searched by entering: kidney tubules, collecting and metabolism.
Expert Index Subject All (sa=) index will search all portions of the subject heading as a distinct phrase search.
Example: 650 #a Kidney Tubules, Collecting #x Metabolism is searched in the sa= index by entering: kidney tubules collecting metabolism - Browse the SA= index for exact terms.
Create links for Reference Sources: The PMID link is based on the presence of the 590/g tag. If it exists, it is used to search the Accession Number index ( NO:) to pull up the related record.
Example record: PMID: 11588343
Update date (ud): When you enter the index label ud:20180621 you get a list of records in the result set.
Index use and structure
What follows is a list of FirstSearch indexes and the combination of USE and STRUCTURE attributes that can be used to access them.
- For any FirstSearch label where multiple USE attributes are listed all the attributes will provide the exact same search result sets.
- Any USE attribute that is not marked as a restrictor is available via the SCAN service.
- Restrictors are specially implemented indexes and are not available for scanning. Terms for these must be ANDed with other terms to limit the size of the result set. See the table provided for each restrictor to determine valid terms and their associated meaning.
FirstSearch Indexes and USE and STRUCTURE attributes used to access them:
| Index | Description | Use Attribute | Structure Attribute | Indexed Fields and Subfields |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keyword (kw) | Any | 5110 | 2 | 242/a 245/a 500/a 520/a 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 773/o,t 902/L,m,t |
| Keyword All | Any |
1016 |
2 | 008 100/a 242/a 245/a 500/a 520/a 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 700/a 710/a 773/o,t,x 798/x 902/L,m,t 949/e,g |
| Abstract (ab) | Abstract | 62 | 2 | 520/a 949/p |
| Accession Number (no) | Control number-local | 12 | 2 | 035/a |
| Address (ad) | OCLC Defined | 5100 | 2 | 949/u 953/k |
| Article Type (at=) | Content-type | 1034 | 1, 2 | 949/L |
| Author (au, au=) | Author-name | 1003 | 1, 2,101 | 100/a 700/a 710/a |
| Central Concept (cc) | OCLC Defined | 5659 | 2 | 650/a,m,x |
| Chemical Substance (cs) | OCLC Defined | 5658 | 2 | 697/u,v |
| Citation Owner (ow) | OCLC Defined | 5981 | 2 | 953/e |
| Corporate Author (co=) | Author-name-corporate | 1005 | 1 | 710/a |
| Date of Entry (da) | OCLC Defined | 5040 | 2 | 953/b |
| Division (sb) | OCLC Defined | 5041 | 2 | 953/d |
| Grant Information (gi) | OCLC Defined | 5943 | 2 | 536/c,8,9 |
| Identifiers (id, id=) | Subject-local | 29 | 1, 2 | 902/L,m |
| Issue (is) | OCLC Defined | 5004 | 2 | 949/b |
| Language (ln=) | Code-language | 54 | 1 | 041/a 546/a |
| MeSH Heading (mh, mh=) | Subject-MESH | 25, 5650 | 1, 2 | 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x |
| Molecular Sequence (ms) | OCLC Defined | 5656 | 2 | 696/d |
| Named Person (na=) | Subject-name-personal | 1009 | 1 | 600/a |
| Notes (nt) | Note | 63 | 2 | 500/a 504/b 536/c,8,9 590/a,b 902/t |
| Number References | OCLC Defined | 5931 | 2 | 504/b |
| Page (First) | OCLC Defined | 5006 | 2 | 949/f |
| Place of Publication (pl) | Name-geographic-place-publication | 59 | 2 | 773/c |
| Publication Date (pd) | Date | 30 | 2 | 949/e,g |
| Record Status Phrase (rs=) | OCLC Defined | 5980 | 1 | 953/a |
| Record Type Phrase (rt=) | Material-type | 1031 | 1 | 696/a 953/d |
| Registry Number (rn) | OCLC Defined | 5975 | 2 | 697/v |
| Standard Number (sn, sn=) | Identifier-standard | 1007 | 1, 2 | 060/a 773/x 798/x 953/n |
| Source (so, so=) | Title-host-item | 1033 | 1, 2 | 773/o,t |
| Subheadings MeSH (sh, sh=) | OCLC Defined | 5064 | 1, 2 | 650/m,x 695/m,x |
| Subject (su, su=) | Subject | 21 | 1, 2 | 600/a 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x 696/b,d,z 697/u,v 902/L,m |
| Subject All (sa=) | OCLC Defined | 5090 | 1 | 650/a,m,x 695/a,m,x |
| Title (ti, ti=) | Title | 4 | 1, 2 | 242/a 245/a |
| Update (ud) | Date/time last modified | 1012 | 2 | 953/c,o |
| Volume (vo) | OCLC Defined | 5013 | 2 | 949/a |
| Year (yr) | Date-publication | 31 | 2,4,5 | 008 |
Record display information
List of FirstSearch fields for MEDLINE and the MARC fields to which they correspond.
| Field Name | MARC field(s) |
|---|---|
| Date | 008 |
| Standard SICI Code | 024/a |
| PMID (PubMed) Accession Number | 035/a |
| Language Code | 041/a |
| Author | 100/a |
| Translated Title | 242/a |
| Title Statement | 245/a |
| General Note | 500/a |
| Number of References | 504/b |
| Abstract | 520/a |
| Grant ID Number | 536/c |
| Grant Info Acronym | 536/8 |
| Grant Sponsoring Agency | 536/9 |
| Language | 546/a |
| Reference Source for Comment, Erratum, Retraction, etc. | 590/a |
| Additional Erratum Information | 590/b |
| PMID Number - associated with the reference source in 590/a | 590/g |
| Medline ID Number - associated with the reference source in 590/a | 590/o |
| Named Person as Subject | 600/a |
| MeSH Subject Headings | 650/a,m,x |
| MeSH Subject Headings | 695/a,m,x |
| Record Type - expanded text for citation subset code in 953/d | 696/a |
| Gene Symbol | 696/b |
| Molecular Sequence Data | 696/d |
| Space Flight Mission Data | 696/z |
| Chemical Substance Name | 697/u |
| Registry Number of Chemical Substance | 697/v |
| Subsequent Author | 700/a |
| Corporate Author | 710/a |
| Country of Publication | 773/c |
| Citation | 773/g |
| Journal Title (full title) | 773/o |
| Journal Title (abbreviated) | 773/t |
| ISSN | 773/x |
| Second ISSN | 798/x |
| Instructions To Get Full Text | 856/i |
| Full Text Format (e.g., ASCII, PDF) | 856/q |
| URL to External Website or Link to Full Text Article (Direct Article Access) | 856/u |
| OCLC DAA (Direct Article Access) | 856/x |
| Database from which Full Text Article Is Accessed | 856/8 |
| Major Identifier | 902/L |
| Minor Identifier | 902/m |
| Investigator | 902/t |
| Investigator Affiliation | 902/s |
| Other Source of Citation (if not NLM) | 902 u |
| Other Citation ID number | 902/v |
| Library Holdings | 948 Detailed holdings information is available in FirstSearch Z39.50 Configuration Guide - Element Set Names. |
| Volume | 949/a |
| Issue | 949/b |
| Pagination | 949/c |
| Part/Supplement | 949/d rare |
| Date of Publication | 949/e |
| First Page Number | 949/f |
| Marketing Defined Date | 949/g |
| Article Type | 949/l |
| Publisher Copyright Statement | 949/p |
| Address of Author or Work | 949/u |
| Display Type | 949/x |
| Record Status | 953/a |
| Date of Entry | 953/b |
| Last Revision Date | 953/c |
| Record Type - Citation Subset Code (Division) | 953/d |
| Medline Citation Owner | 953/e |
| Address of Author or Work (like 949/u but with period and @ sign removed for indexing) |
953/k |
| NLM Unique Journal ID | 953/n |
| Date Completed | 953/o |
| Electronic Publication Date | 953/p |
| Author - Last name | 953/0 |
| Author - Fore or First Name | 953/1 |
| Author - Middle Name | 953/2 |
| Author - Suffix | 953/3 |
| Author - Initials | 953/4 |
| Personal Name - surname | 953/5 |
| Personal Name - first name or forename | 953/6 |
| Personal Name - middle name | 953/7 |
| Personal Name - Suffix | 953/8 |
| Personal Name - initials | 953/9 |
Restrictors
The following are restrictors which must be added to an index search with the Boolean operator AND in order to receive search results:
| Restrictor | Type | Input | Use Attribute | Structure Attribute | MARC Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year* | All years Single year Range of years |
-- 1999, or 2000 -1899 1955-1967 1998- |
31 | 2,4,5 | 008 |
| Language* | No limit English Non-English |
-- english nonenglish |
54 | 1 | 546/a |
| Record Status Phrase* |
No limit |
-- |
5980 | 1 | 953/a |
| Record Type* |
No limit |
-- "aids hiv" "abridged index medicus" or "aim" bioethics biotechnology communication dentistry foreign health administration health technology histline "index medicus" or "im" nursing spaceline |
1031 | 1 | 696/a |
| Abstract Indicator | All Abstracts No Abstracts |
-- ab noab |
5026 | 2 | 974/L |
| Limit to Full Text | Limit to full text | -- fulltext |
2 | 6002 | Limit to Full Text |
| Limit to Holdings | OCLC Institution Symbol | Enter symbol for OCLC institution | 2 | 56 | Limit to Holdings |
*Both an index and a restrictor.
Note: To find the OCLC symbol for an institution, please see the online version of OCLC Participating Institutions.
Sorting
Search results in the MEDLINE database can be sorted by Author (1003), Title (4), Publication Date (30), and Journal Title (1033).
General punctuation rules
Exceptions are made, but these are generally correct:
| Punctuation | Rule | Punctuation | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| " | Delete and collapse | $ | Delete and collapse |
| ' | (apostrophe) Delete and collapse | % | Delete and collapse |
| . | (period) Delete and collapse | * | Delete and collapse |
| , | (comma) Delete and collapse | + | Delete and collapse |
| ; | Delete and collapse | > | Delete and collapse |
| : | Delete and collapse | < | Delete and collapse |
| () | Delete and collapse | @ | Delete and collapse |
| <> | Delete and collapse | ? | Delete and collapse |
| {} | Delete and collapse | -- | Delete and collapse |
| [] | Delete and collapse | / | Substitute a space |
| = | Delete and collapse | - | Retain and index |
| ! | Delete and collapse | & | Retain and index |
| # | Delete and collapse | ||
Copyright information
MEDLINE is a registered trademark of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Some NLM produced data is from copyrighted publications of the respective copyright claimants. Users of the NLM databases are solely responsible for compliance with any copyright restrictions and are referred to the publication data appearing in the bibliographic citations, as well as to the copyright notices appearing in the original publications, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. NLM users are required to read additional terms contained under the Help menu.