An agency of the NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH concerned with overall planning, promoting, and administering programs pertaining to advancement of medical and related sciences. Major activities of this institute include the collection, dissemination, and exchange of information important to the progress of medicine and health, research in medical informatics and support for medical library development.

A computerized biomedical bibliographic storage and retrieval system operated by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. MEDLARS stands for Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System, which was first introduced in 1964 and evolved into an online system in 1971 called MEDLINE (MEDLARS Online). As other online databases were developed, MEDLARS became the name of the entire NLM information system while MEDLINE became the name of the premier database. MEDLARS was used to produce the former printed Cumulated Index Medicus, and the printed monthly Index Medicus, until that publication ceased in December 2004.

A microcomputer-based software package providing a user-friendly interface to the MEDLARS system of the National Library of Medicine.

NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE service for health professionals and consumers. It links extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other reviewed sources of information on specific diseases and conditions.

The premier bibliographic database of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. MEDLINE® (MEDLARS Online) is the primary subset of PUBMED and can be searched on NLM's Web site in PubMed or the NLM Gateway. MEDLINE references are indexed with MEDICAL SUBJECT HEADINGS (MeSH).

Libraries in which a major proportion of the resources are available in machine-readable format, rather than on paper or MICROFORM.

A research and development program initiated by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE to build knowledge sources for the purpose of aiding the development of systems that help health professionals retrieve and integrate biomedical information. The knowledge sources can be used to link disparate information systems to overcome retrieval problems caused by differences in terminology and the scattering of relevant information across many databases. The three knowledge sources are the Metathesaurus, the Semantic Network, and the Specialist Lexicon.

Collections of systematically acquired and organized information resources, and usually providing assistance to users. (ERIC Thesaurus, http://www.eric.ed.gov/ accessed 2/1/2008)

Print and non-print materials collected, processed, and stored by libraries. They comprise books, periodicals, pamphlets, reports, microforms, maps, manuscripts, motion pictures, and all other forms of audiovisual records. (Harrod, The Librarians' Glossary, 4th ed, p497)

Terms or expressions which provide the major means of access by subject to the bibliographic unit.

Services offered to the library user. They include reference and circulation.

Planning, organizing, staffing, direction, and control of libraries.

Activities performed to identify concepts and aspects of published information and research reports.

A large collection of DNA fragments cloned (CLONING, MOLECULAR) from a given organism, tissue, organ, or cell type. It may contain complete genomic sequences (GENOMIC LIBRARY) or complementary DNA sequences, the latter being formed from messenger RNA and lacking intron sequences.

Acquisition, organization, and preparation of library materials for use, including selection, weeding, cataloging, classification, and preservation.

Systems where the input data enter the computer directly from the point of origin (usually a terminal or workstation) and/or in which output data are transmitted directly to that terminal point of origin. (Sippl, Computer Dictionary, 4th ed)

Collection and analysis of data pertaining to operations of a particular library, library system, or group of independent libraries, with recommendations for improvement and/or ordered plans for further development.

Organized services to provide information on any questions an individual might have using databases and other sources. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Development of a library collection, including the determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of needs of users and potential users, collection use studies, collection evaluation, identification of collection needs, selection of materials, planning for resource sharing, collection maintenance and weeding, and budgeting.

Activities performed in the preparation of bibliographic records for CATALOGS. It is carried out according to a set of rules and contains information enabling the user to know what is available and where items can be found.

Study of the principles and practices of library administration and services.

Controlled vocabulary thesaurus produced by the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. It consists of sets of terms naming descriptors in a hierarchical structure that permits searching at various levels of specificity.

Specialists in the management of a library or the services rendered by a library, bringing professional skills to administration, organization of material and personnel, interpretation of bibliothecal rules, the development and maintenance of the library's collection, and the provision of information services.

Organized activities related to the storage, location, search, and retrieval of information.

The use of automatic machines or processing devices in libraries. The automation may be applied to library administrative activities, office procedures, and delivery of library services to users.

A system containing any combination of computers, computer terminals, printers, audio or visual display devices, or telephones interconnected by telecommunications equipment or cables: used to transmit or receive information. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Information centers primarily serving the needs of hospital medical staff and sometimes also providing patient education and other services.

Integrated set of files, procedures, and equipment for the storage, manipulation, and retrieval of information.

Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.

A concept, developed in 1983 under the aegis of and supported by the National Library of Medicine under the name of Integrated Academic Information Management Systems, to provide professionals in academic health sciences centers and health sciences institutions with convenient access to an integrated and comprehensive network of knowledge. It addresses a wide cross-section of users from administrators and faculty to students and clinicians and has applications to planning, clinical and managerial decision-making, teaching, and research. It provides access to various types of clinical, management, educational, etc., databases, as well as to research and bibliographic databases. In August 1992 the name was changed from Integrated Academic Information Management Systems to Integrated Advanced Information Management Systems to reflect use beyond the academic milieu.

A publication issued at stated, more or less regular, intervals.

The field of information science concerned with the analysis and dissemination of medical data through the application of computers to various aspects of health care and medicine.

Federal, state, or local government organized methods of financial assistance.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of references and citations to books, articles, publications, etc., generally on a single subject or specialized subject area. Databases can operate through automated files, libraries, or computer disks. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, FACTUAL which is used for collections of data and facts apart from bibliographic references to them.

A bibliographic database that includes MEDLINE as its primary subset. It is produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), part of the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE. PubMed, which is searchable through NLM's Web site, also includes access to additional citations to selected life sciences journals not in MEDLINE, and links to other resources such as the full-text of articles at participating publishers' Web sites, NCBI's molecular biology databases, and PubMed Central.

Process of teaching a person to interact and communicate with a computer.

A specified list of terms with a fixed and unalterable meaning, and from which a selection is made when CATALOGING; ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING; or searching BOOKS; JOURNALS AS TOPIC; and other documents. The control is intended to avoid the scattering of related subjects under different headings (SUBJECT HEADINGS). The list may be altered or extended only by the publisher or issuing agency. (From Harrod's Librarians' Glossary, 7th ed, p163)

Organized collections of computer records, standardized in format and content, that are stored in any of a variety of computer-readable modes. They are the basic sets of data from which computer-readable files are created. (from ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science, 1983)

A system of traditional medicine which is based on the beliefs and practices of the Chinese culture.

The interactions between members of a community and representatives of the institutions within that community.

A loose confederation of computer communication networks around the world. The networks that make up the Internet are connected through several backbone networks. The Internet grew out of the US Government ARPAnet project and was designed to facilitate information exchange.

The terms, expressions, designations, or symbols used in a particular science, discipline, or specialized subject area.

Computer processing of a language with rules that reflect and describe current usage rather than prescribed usage.

Extensive collections, reputedly complete, of facts and data garnered from material of a specialized subject area and made available for analysis and application. The collection can be automated by various contemporary methods for retrieval. The concept should be differentiated from DATABASES, BIBLIOGRAPHIC which is restricted to collections of bibliographic references.

"The business or profession of the commercial production and issuance of literature" (Webster's 3d). It includes the publisher, publication processes, editing and editors. Production may be by conventional printing methods or by electronic publishing.

Therapeutic approach tailoring therapy for genetically defined subgroups of patients.

An approach of practicing medicine with the goal to improve and evaluate patient care. It requires the judicious integration of best research evidence with the patient's values to make decisions about medical care. This method is to help physicians make proper diagnosis, devise best testing plan, choose best treatment and methods of disease prevention, as well as develop guidelines for large groups of patients with the same disease. (from JAMA 296 (9), 2006)

An operating division of the US Department of Health and Human Services. It is concerned with the overall planning, promoting, and administering of programs pertaining to health and medical research. Until 1995, it was an agency of the United States PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

The portion of an interactive computer program that issues messages to and receives commands from a user.

A medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the internal organ systems of adults.

A form of GENE LIBRARY containing the complete DNA sequences present in the genome of a given organism. It contrasts with a cDNA library which contains only sequences utilized in protein coding (lacking introns).

Critical and exhaustive investigation or experimentation, having for its aim the discovery of new facts and their correct interpretation, the revision of accepted conclusions, theories, or laws in the light of newly discovered facts, or the practical application of such new or revised conclusions, theories, or laws. (Webster, 3d ed)

Systems of medicine based on cultural beliefs and practices handed down from generation to generation. The concept includes mystical and magical rituals (SPIRITUAL THERAPIES); PHYTOTHERAPY; and other treatments which may not be explained by modern medicine.

A specialty field of radiology concerned with diagnostic, therapeutic, and investigative use of radioactive compounds in a pharmaceutical form.

System of herbal medicine practiced in Japan by both herbalists and practitioners of modern medicine. Kampo originated in China and is based on Chinese herbal medicine (MEDICINE, CHINESE TRADITIONAL).

The art and science of studying, performing research on, preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease, as well as the maintenance of health.

Studies determining the effectiveness or value of processes, personnel, and equipment, or the material on conducting such studies. For drugs and devices, CLINICAL TRIALS AS TOPIC; DRUG EVALUATION; and DRUG EVALUATION, PRECLINICAL are available.

Sequential operating programs and data which instruct the functioning of a digital computer.

Components of a national health care system which administer specific services, e.g., national health insurance.

Large collections of small molecules (molecular weight about 600 or less), of similar or diverse nature which are used for high-throughput screening analysis of the gene function, protein interaction, cellular processing, biochemical pathways, or other chemical interactions.

Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.

Education that increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of health on a personal or community basis.

Studies designed to assess the efficacy of programs. They may include the evaluation of cost-effectiveness, the extent to which objectives are met, or impact.

The study and practice of medicine by direct examination of the patient.

Chinese herbal or plant extracts which are used as drugs to treat diseases or promote general well-being. The concept does not include synthesized compounds manufactured in China.

The branch of medicine concerned with the evaluation and initial treatment of urgent and emergent medical problems, such as those caused by accidents, trauma, sudden illness, poisoning, or disasters. Emergency medical care can be provided at the hospital or at sites outside the medical facility.

The insertion of recombinant DNA molecules from prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic sources into a replicating vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus vector, and the introduction of the resultant hybrid molecules into recipient cells without altering the viability of those cells.

A field of medicine concerned with developing and using strategies aimed at repair or replacement of damaged, diseased, or metabolically deficient organs, tissues, and cells via TISSUE ENGINEERING; CELL TRANSPLANTATION; and ARTIFICIAL ORGANS and BIOARTIFICIAL ORGANS and tissues.