PubMed Overview
Introduction
PubMed is a free, web-based resource developed and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The primary goal of PubMed is to support the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature, aiming to improve health globally and personally.
Key Features
Extensive Database
PubMed contains over 37 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature, covering a broad range of fields including biomedicine, health, life sciences, behavioral sciences, chemical sciences, and bioengineering.
Components of PubMed
- MEDLINE: The largest component of PubMed, consisting of citations from journals selected for MEDLINE, indexed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and curated with various metadata.
- PubMed Central (PMC): A full-text archive of articles from journals reviewed and selected by NLM, as well as individual articles collected in compliance with funder policies.
- Bookshelf: An archive of books, reports, databases, and other documents related to biomedical, health, and life sciences.
Functionality
Search Capabilities
PubMed offers advanced search features, including:
- Auto Term Mapping: Automatically links search terms to relevant MeSH terms and subheadings, enhancing search sensitivity and reducing false-negative results. This feature is enabled by default in free text searching but can be disabled using exact phrase searching or field labels.
- Clinical Query Filters: These filters help in retrieving relevant articles that answer clinical questions about therapy, diagnosis, etiology, or prognosis. Recent updates include filters for systematic reviews and COVID-19 articles.
Personalization and Tools
- My NCBI: An optional facility that allows users to save searches, filter search results, set up automatic email updates, save sets of references, and configure display formats. This feature is accessible from any computer with web access.
Access to Full Text
While PubMed itself does not include full-text journal articles, it often provides links to the full text when available from other sources such as the publisher’s website or PubMed Central (PMC).
Additional Resources
- PubMed User Guide: Provides detailed how-to information on searching the PubMed database.
- MEDLINE and PubMed Resources Guide: Offers additional documentation and resources for using PubMed effectively.
Accessibility and Updates
PubMed has been available to the public online since 1996 and continues to be updated with new features and functionalities to enhance literature searches, including the ability to retrieve early-release preprints and COVID-19 related articles.
In summary, PubMed is a comprehensive and powerful tool for searching and retrieving biomedical literature, offering extensive databases, advanced search capabilities, and personalized tools to support health research and clinical decision-making.