1. AN INTRODUCTION TO
PUBMED AND MESH

2. IS A DATABASE OF MEDICAL LITERATURE
DEVELOPED BY THE NATIONAL LIBRARY OF
MEDICINE. IT INDEXES OVER 5,500
JOURNALS AND COMPRISES OVER 21
MILLION JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOKS.

3. IS UPDATED ALMOST EVERY DAY

4. IS UPDATED ALMOST EVERY DAY
INCLUDES ARTICLES FROM AS FAR
BACK AS THE 1940S

5. IS UPDATED ALMOST EVERY DAY
INCLUDES ARTICLES FROM AS FAR
BACK AS THE 1940S
COVERS TOPICS IN THE CLINICAL
AND BASIC SCIENCES

6. MESH

7. MESH =

8. MEDICAL
MESH = SUBJECT
HEADINGS

9. MeSH terms represent
concepts found in the
MESH = medical literature. They
are used to describe
articles in PubMed.

10. MESH = COOL

11. MESH = COOL
(Because it can help you
find things in PubMed.)

12. FROM THE SEARCH BAR

13. USE THE DROPDOWN MENU

14. TO SELECT MeSH

15. AND SEARCH FOR TERMS
prions
veterinary medicine

17. let’s break
this down

19. This is the scope note: it defines
how the term is used by MeSH.

20. Words in caps are
other MeSH terms.
This is the scope note: it defines
how the term is used by MeSH.

22. Using subheadings narrows the results to
specific aspects of the concept. You can
also choose to get only articles that have a
major focus on the concept.

24. Entry terms are other words used for the
same concept. Previous indexing shows
older terms—you can use them to find
older articles dealing with this concept.

25. The tree at the bottom shows how
this term is related to other terms.
They follow a hierarchical structure.

27. The search builder is,
naturally, used to build
searches using MeSH
terms.

28. The search builder is,
naturally, used to build
searches using MeSH
terms.
Here’s how.

29. First, check off any subheadings or other
restrictions you want to use. (If you don’t
check any, it will just use the main term.)

30. ...Choose the operator you want…
(“and” = narrow
“or” = broaden
“not” = exclude)

31. …and click “add to search builder.”

32. …and click “add to search builder.”

33. You can add multiple terms from
multiple searches using the same
steps. The search builder will keep
track of what you add each time.

35. That’s all for now.

36. Use your new powers wisely.
Slideshow created by Zach Sharrow
Health Sciences Librarian
Lincoln Memorial University
zachary.sharrow@lmunet.edu