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MEDLINE, PubMed & Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): Basic Search

An introduction to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terminology.

Basic Search

Navigating the PubMed Homepage

As of 2020, the PubMed homepage has changed in layout, but the same features are still available: 

  • A query box to type your search terms
  • A link to the Advanced Search screen where you can add additional search terms such as author, date, subject, etc. 
  • Below the search box, you'll find links to tools and resources such as the MeSH database, Citation Matcher, Clinical Queries, and more.
  • Trending articles
  • Latest literature 

Additional PubMed features can be found thru the footer at the bottom of the homepage. Among these features are: 

  • The ability to toggle between PubMed (where you can view abstracts and get links to other databases where the article is located), and PubMed Central (an open access database for reading the full texts of articles published on PubMed).
  • Subject specific databases, such as: Chemistry, Protein, and Genes
  • Background information about the database itself and it's creators (the National Center for Biotechnology Information)
  • Information about how authors can submit their work to PubMed 

A Basic Search in PubMed

Most of the time, you'll search PubMed by simply entering your search terms into the search box on the homepage. 

But PubMed does more than just search for those words. It also uses Automatic Term Mapping to search for synonyms to your search terms in the MeSH vocabulary. Then it searches for your terms and those synonyms in all the fields (author, journal title, article title, MeSH heading, author keywords, abstract, publication date, etc.) used to describe an article.

Example: Try a Simple Search in PubMed

1. Type miRNA in the query box. Note that PubMed will often give you search suggestions as you type. Use these search suggestions if you wish, but keep in mind that they are based on common PubMed searches, but aren't necessarily the best search terms for your question. 

2. Click Search/Hit Enter. The first 10 references matching your search will appear. Near the top, it will display the total number of citations PubMed found on the topic, and if you scroll to the bottom you'll be able to "show more results" or "jump to" another page of results. 

3. Note that it is possible to edit your search in the Search Details box at any time. 

John B. Coleman Library
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