EBM Librarian: Neat MeSH Terms (a growing list)

NOTE: Do not automatically explode the MeSH, Exp means that some of its narrower MeSH in the Tree might be of interest. I apologize, but since the last PubMed update, it seems that these links to the PubMed MeSH database do not work. However, it's easy enough to just type them into the MeSH database manually.

See also EBM Librarian: Bibliographies (non-English articles) of Possible Readings for an EBM Syllabus

See also EBM Librarian: Bibliographies (English-language articles) of Possible Readings for an EBM Syllabus

See also EBM Librarian: Teaching EBM, Example Articles, & More

See also Keeping Current for OTs: EBM, Life-Long Learning, & Continuing Education

Concept: exercise
Searcher should use Exercise and OR it with Exp Sports; explode Sports to include walking, jogging, weight lifting, etc. A cautious searcher may wish to OR those MeSH with this MeSH, Exercise Movement Techniques or Exercise Therapy. NOTE: Yay! NLM is finally now suggesting all these terms in the See Also portion of the MeSH record. Thank you NLM!

Concept: acupuncture for patients
Searcher should use Acupuncture Therapy, which is the actual use of this modality because Acupuncture is merely the profession of acupuncture. (However, in the CINAHL database, Acupuncture is the actual use of this modality and there is no MeSH for the profession.)

Concept: digitalis as a medicine for heart failure
Searcher should use exp Digitalis Glycosides, which are the drugs derived from the Digitalis plant genus because Digitalis is just the genus of this medicinal plant. However, to be sure of getting results that may have been improperly indexed, a cautious searcher may choose to OR these MeSH.

Concept: physical therapy treatment for patients
Searcher should use exp Physical Therapy Techniques, which will include the PT modalities (when the MeSH is exploded). Physical Therapy (Speciality) is just profession of physical therapy.

Concept: cancer medications--most people search with "chemotherapy," which maps to "drug therapy." If the searcher had searched with "cancer drugs," MEDLINE would've properly mapped to "antineoplastic agents."
Searcher should use exp Antineoplastic Agents, which will include all these cancer drugs (when the MeSH is exploded if using Ovid--if using PubMed, OR this MeSH with Antineoplastic Agents [Pharmacological Action] to get all the cancer drugs). Drug Therapy generally does NOT retrieve the types of citations the searcher wants.

Concept: calcium supplements for patients.
Searcher should use Dietary Calcium. However, a cautious searcher may wish to OR this term with (Dietary Supplements AND Calcium).

Concept: x-rays for diagnosis.
Searcher should use Radiography (explode, if desired). X-Rays is the radiation itself.

Concept: the Canadian medicare program
The Canadian program is also called medicare. Searcher should combine National Health Programs/ AND exp Canada (explode this term). For the US program, use exp Medicare/.

Concept: the infection caused by the organism
Searcher should use Escherichia coli Infections. Escherichia coli is the bacteria itself, NOT the illness they cause. Concept: epidemiology of a disease
Searcher should attach the epidemiology subheading to the disease of interest. The MeSH Epidemiology is merely the profession of epidemiology.

Concept: depression and/or depressed mood
This is a matter of degree, so the Searcher has the option of choosing one of these MeSH, or ORing them. I would recommend ORing them: Depression OR exp Depressive Disorder.

Concept: patient compliance
Searcher should use Patient Compliance. Compliance is refers to the ability of a chamber (such as the bladder) to distend. NOTE: There is no MeSH that directly relates to physician compliance; Guideline Adherence may come close to that concept.

Concept: people of African descent (or other ethnicity)
Searcher should use African Continental Ancestry Group and explode this term (if using Ovid to search MEDLINE). For other ethnicities, look at Minority Groups, Ethnic Groups (explode it if using Ovid), Population Groups (explode it if using Ovid to get both country of origin and the hypenated American version), and/or the MeSH term for that country. If the study was conducted in Finland, chances are, most of the patients are Finnish. Lastly, you can try the subheading for Ethnology, but in my experience, I have rarely gotten relevant articles with this subheading.

Tips for Finding Relevant MeSH Terms

Also check out Librarians' Tips: Exhaustive Literature Searching in Health

Exp Abnormalities
Birth Injuries
Birth Weight see also exp Infant, Low Birth Weight and Fetal Growth Retardation
Exp Delivery
Diagnostic Techniques, Obstetrical and Gynecological
Fetal Growth Retardation see Birth Weight (above)
Exp Fetal Monitoring
Exp Intraoperative Complications
Low Birth Weight, Infant see Birth Weight (above)
Exp Mass Screening
Exp Maternal Age
Maternal Exposure
Exp Maternal Nutrition
Exp Mortality
Paternal Exposure
Exp Postoperative Complications
Preconception Care
Exp Pregnancy
Exp Pregnancy Complications
Preimplantation Diagnosis
Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects
Exp Puerperal Disorders
Reproductive History
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome�not necessarily for illegal drugs, either!
Time
Time Factors
Ultrasonography, Prenatal
Wrongful Life

Attitude to Death
Exp Attitude to Health
Directly Observed Therapy
Exp Health Behavior
Exp Life Style
Exp Mass Screening
Exp Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Patient Dropouts
Patient Satisfaction
(pill splitting.mp. OR tablet splitting.mp. OR Tablets/economics)
Quality of Life
Exp Self Care
Sick Role

Activities of Daily Living
Child of Impaired Parents
Exp Disability Evaluation
Disabled Persons
Fatigue
Exp Health Status Indicators
Income
Leisure Activities
Life Expectancy
Exp Life Style
Longevity
Quality-Adjusted Life Year
Quality of Life
Recovery of Function
Exp Self Care
Sick Leave
Time
Time Factors
Value of Life
(years of life lost.mp. OR years of life lived with disability.mp. OR years lived with disability.mp. OR years lost with disability.mp. OR disability adjusted life year$.mp. OR health adjusted life years.mp. OR health-related quality of life.mp. OR years of healthy life.mp. OR healthy years of life.mp. OR health$ life year$.mp. OR burden of disease.mp. OR quality of life.mp. OR quality-adjusted life year.mp. OR premature mortality.mp.)

Cancer & Serious Diseases:

Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic
Advance Directives
Age Factors
(Age of Onset OR age of onset.mp. OR age at onset.mp.)
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled
Antibiotic Prophylaxis
Exp Antineoplastic Agents; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Exp Antineoplastic Protocols; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Exp Body Weight Changes
Cachexia
Cancer Vaccines
Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Chemoprevention see also Exp Protective Agents
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Chronotherapy
Exp Combined Modality Therapy
Comorbidity
Coronary Restenosis
Delayed-Action Preparations
Exp Dental Care to get care for the aged, children, chronically ill, & disabled
Exp Disease Attributes
Disease Management
Disease Susceptibility
Exp Drug Administration Routes
Exp Drug Administration Schedule
Drug Delivery Systems
Drug Dose-Response Relationship
Exp Drug Therapy, Combination
fair innings.mp.
HIV Long-Term Survivors
HIV Wasting Syndrome
Life Expectancy
Exp Life Style
Living Wills
Longevity
Exp Mass Screening
Medical Futility
Exp Mortality
Neoplasm Staging
Exp Neoplasms, Multiple Primary
Neoplasm Recurrence, Local (also try Recurrence)
Neoplasms, Second Primary
Exp Neoplastic Processes
Proportional Hazards Models
Exp Prognosis
Quality-Adjusted Life Year
Quality of Life
Radiotherapy
Exp Radiotherapy Dosage
Remission Induction
Recurrence
Resuscitation Orders
Sex Factors
Therapies, Investigational
Exp Therapy, Computer-Assisted
Time
Time Factors
Exp Trauma Severity Indices
Treatment Refusal
Truth Disclosure
(versus.ti,ab. OR comparison.ti. OR Comparative Study)

Comparative Study
Exp Delivery of Health Care/economics
Exp Economics
Evaluation Studies
fair innings.mp.
Exp Health Education/economics
Exp Health Planning/economics
Exp Health Services/economics
Life Expectancy
Longevity
Exp Models, Economic (may get very technical articles)
Exp "Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)"/economics
Exp Patient Care/economics
(pill splitting.mp. OR tablet splitting.mp. OR Tablets/economics) Program Evaluation
Quality-Adjusted Life Year
Exp Resource Allocation
Value of Life
Also try the economics subheading attached to the disease or outcome

Advanced Directive Adherence
Choice Behavior
Decision Making
Decision Support Systems, Clinical
Guideline Adherence
Decision Support Systems, Management
Decision Support Techniques
Exp Decision Theory
fair innings.mp.
Exp Guidelines; also practice guidelines.pt.
Incidental Findings
Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Physician's Practice Patterns
Exp Professional Competence
Exp Professional Practice/methods, standards, statistics & numerical data, trends, utilization
Exp Professional Role
Exp Resource Allocation
Self-Evaluation Programs
Time
Time Factors
Try the health field, health specialization, or medical technique or therapy with any of these subheadings: methods, standards, statistics & numerical data, trends, utilization

Alcoholism & Marijuana:

Alcohol Drinking
Exp Alcoholic Beverages
Cannabis
Exp Alcohol-Related Disorders
Marijuana Abuse
Marijuana Smoking
Exp Cannabinoids

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced
Exp Adjuvants, Anesthesia
Exp Adjuvants, Immunologic
Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic
Age Factors
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled
Anesthetics, Combined
Antibiotic Prophylaxis
Exp Anticarcinogenic Agents read its Scope Note carefully--don't confuse this with Exp Antineoplastic Agents
Exp Antimutagenic Agents read its Scope Note carefully--don't confuse this with Exp Antineoplastic Agents
Exp Antineoplastic Agents; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Exp Antineoplastic Protocols; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Antitretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Chemoprevention see also Exp Protective Agents
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; also try the drug therapy subheading with the specific cancer MeSH term
Chronotherapy
Antibiotics, Combined
Exp Combined Modality Therapy
Delayed-Action Preparations
Exp Dosage Forms
Exp Drug Administration Routes
Exp Drug Administration Schedule
Exp Drug Approval
Exp Drug Carriers
Drug Dose-Response Relationship
Drug Evaluation
Exp Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
Exp Drug Hypersensitivity
Drug Incompatibility read its Scope Note, don't confuse it with Exp Drug Interactions
Exp Drug Interactions
Exp Drug Therapy; also try the drug therapy subheading
Exp Drug Therapy, Combination
Economics, Pharmaceutical
ethnology subheading with the drug name
Maximum Tolerated Dose
No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level
Nostrums
Exp Pharmaceutical Preparations
Exp Pharmacology
Polypharmacy
Exp Protective Agents
Quality of Life
Sex Factors
Street Drugs
Substance Withdrawal Syndrome�not necessarily for illegal drugs, either!
Exp Teratogens
Therapies, Investigational
Time
Time Factors
(versus.ti,ab. OR comparison.ti. OR Comparative Study)

Exp Biological Markers
Exp Diagnosis
Incidental Findings
Exp Mass Screening
Exp Guidelines; also practice guidelines.pt.
Exp Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms
Reference Standards
Exp "Signs and Symptoms"
Tumor Burden
Exp Tumor Markers, Biological

Exp Abnormalities
Birth Injuries
Exp Causality
Conflict of Interest
Cross Infection
Dental Restoration Failure
Exp Diagnosis
Exp Diagnostic Errors
Differential Diagnosis
Exp Disability Evaluation
Exp Disclosure
Disease Transmission, Patient-To-Professional
Disease Transmission, Professional-To-Patient
Exp Drug Hypersensitivity
Exp Drug Interactions
Exp Environmental Pollution
Exp Equipment Failure
Equipment Failure Analysis
Equipment Reuse
Exp Ethics
Exp Evaluation Studies
Fraud
Guideline Adherence
Exp Guidelines; also practice guidelines.pt.
Exp Health Services Misuse
Exp Health Status Indicators
Incidental Findings
Exp Intraoperative Complications
Exp Jurisprudence
Malingering
Exp Mass Screening
Materials Testing
Medical Futility
Exp Mortality
Neoplasm Seeding
No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level
Exp Occupational Diseases
Exp �Outcome Assessment (Health Care)�
Patient Compliance
Exp Postoperative Complications
Exp Professional Misconduct
Exp Professional Role
Exp Prognosis
Prosthesis Failure
Exp Quality of Health Care
Quality-Adjusted Life Year
Quality of Life
Recovery of Function
Exp Risk
Exp "Signs and Symptoms"
Exp Teratogens
Time
Time Factors
Exp Toxicity Tests
Treatment Refusal
Various subheadings such as contraindications, adverse effects, chemically-induced, legislation & jurisprudence, poisoning, toxicity, etc.
legal cases.pt.
(MeSH or keyword of "lost/misplaced" surgical object AND Exp Foreign Bodies)
Also see the MeSH under: Pregnancy &/or Pregnancy/Fetal Complications, Effects of the Illness, and Making Decisions, Physician Practice & Ability.

Amputation Stumps
Anecdotes
Beginning of Human Life
Exp Body Weights and Measures
Carcinogenicity Tests
Exp Caricatures; also Cartoons.pt.
Exp Cohort Studies
Comorbidity
Contact Tracing
Exp Culture
Debridement
Deinstitutionalization
Exp Dental Care to get care for the aged, children, chronically ill, & disabled
Exp Diet Therapy; also try the diet therapy subheading
Exp Diet
Disease Susceptibility
Drug Incompatibility
Drugs, Essential
Editorial Policies
Equipment Reuse
Ethnic Groups
Exercise OR with Exp Sports (use this to get articles on using exercise and exercise activities such as walking, jogging, weight lifting as an intervention)
Exp Exercise Movement Techniques
Exp Exertion
Exp Family Characteristics
Forecasting
Fracture Healing
Genetic Privacy
Exp Genetics, Behavioral
Geriatric Assessment
Health Facility Closure
Health Facility Merger
Health Priorities
HIV Long-Term Survivors
HIV Wasting Syndrome
Incidental Findings
Exp Income
Information Dissemination
Information Management
Manipulation, Osteopathic
Minority Groups
Exp Noxae
Orthodontic Space Closure
Exp "Outcome Assessment (Health Care)"
Exp Personnel Management
Physical Fitness
Population Groups
Exp Practice Management
Protective Devices
Reference Standards
Reference Values
Exp Regeneration
Exp Risk Managment
Exp Quality of Health Care
Exp Sports
Exp Substance-Related Disorders
Exp Surgical Procedures, Operative
Tablets, Enteric-Coated
Exp Therapeutics look at its Tree to select specific narrower MeSH, like Bed Rest; or to see what areas you�d like to explode, such as Exercise Movement Techniques or Catheterization
Therapies, Investigational
(Time Factors OR (quick$ OR earl$ OR soon$).mp.)
(Time Factors OR (longterm OR long-term).mp.)
Voice Quality
Weight Loss
Workload
Exp "Wounds and Injuries"

Wound Healing

(Age of Onset OR age of onset.mp. OR age at onset.mp.)
(chemotherap$.mp. OR Drug Therapy OR the specific cancer MeSH term with the drug therapy subheading)
fair innings.mp.
first-line.ti,ab.
indications.ti.
(manag$.ti. AND the disease/outcome MeSH)
(MeSH or keyword of "lost/misplaced" surgical object AND Exp Foreign Bodies)
(pill splitting.mp. OR tablet splitting.mp. OR Tablets/economics)
second-line.ti,ab.
third-line.ti,ab.
(Time Factors OR (quick$ OR earl$ OR soon$).mp.)
(Time Factors OR (longterm OR long-term).mp.)
(versus.ti,ab. OR comparison.ti. OR Comparative Study)
(years of life lost.mp. OR years of life lived with disability.mp. OR years lived with disability.mp. OR disability adjusted life year$.mp. OR health adjusted life years.mp. OR health-related quality of life.mp. OR years of healthy life.mp. OR healthy years of life.mp. OR health$ life year$.mp. OR burden of disease.mp. OR quality of life.mp. OR quality-adjusted life year.mp.)

Below are keywords for finding "tips and tricks"-type books or articles. The asterisk stands for truncation, of course. Some keywords, like survival, survive, and surviving, are better used for non-medical databases, such as Amazon--using those terms in MEDLINE could give too many false hits.

Advice
Avoid*
Beginner*
Best Practice*
Busy
Cheatsheet*
Commonsense
Cookbook
Do-It-Yourself
Dummies
Dummy
Easy
Guide
Guidebook
Handbook
Help*
Hint*
"How To"
"How-to"
Howto
Hour*
Ideas
Idiot*
Instant*
Intro
Introduction
"Made Incredibly Easy"
"Made Incredibly Visual"
"Made Simple"
Manual
Menu
Minute*
Model
Month*
Options
Overview
Pearls
Pitfalls
Practical
Second*
Secret*
Short Cut*
Shortcut*
Solution*
Starter
Starting
Step*
Step By Step
Strategies
Succeed*
Success
Survival
Survive
Surviving
Tidbits
Tip*
"Tips & Tricks"
"Tips And Tricks"
Tool*
Top 10
Tricks
Week*
Weekend
Wisdom
You
Your

Thanks to members on these listservs: Medlib and Evidence-Based-Libraries. Sapphire International provides MeSH terms in other languages (English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian; French will be available soon, according to the site)--it is reversible, too; for example, can look up Russian MeSH for Spanish MeSH or German MeSH for English MesH; you must type in the correct MeSH term in order to get the results--if you forget the correct MeSH in English, verify it in PubMed's MeSH Browser. NOTE: I think the Russian, at least, is transliterated rather than in actual Russian cryllic and the Spanish does not include the accent marks.

BabelMeSH: Multilanguage Search for MEDLINE/PubMed "Search MEDLINE/PubMed using medical terms or phrases in French, Spanish and Portuguese. Citations and abstracts retrieved will be in English only. Typing accents is optional." Searching in Chinese is noted as "under construction," but it seems to be searchable right now.

DeCS: Health Sciences Descriptors/Descritores em Ci�ncias da Sa�de/Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud provides MeSH in English, Portuguese and Spanish, including definitions in those languages

Swedish Medical Terminology provides MeSH in English and Swedish, via the Karolinska Institutet. University Library

Le MeSH Bilingue 2002 can search in French (and English?), courtesy of Inserm, DISC (Department of scientific information and the communication); unfortunately, the site is temporarily down, so I wasn't able to search it to see how it works (if it searches MEDLINE or provides the non-English MeSH, I don't know), I'll post details when I learn more

HON Select courtesy of the Health on the Net Foundation, can search in English, French/Fran�ais, German/Deutsch, and Portuguese/Portugu�s; unfortunately that function is temporarily down so I wasn't able to search it to see how it works (if it searches MEDLINE or provides the non-English MeSH, I don't know), I'll post details when I learn more

DIMDI can search MEDLINE in English or German in either language interface, courtesy of Deutsches Institut f�r Medizinische Dokumentation und Information; article abstracts are in English, but it does provide the MeSH in English and German

Russian Interface to MEDLINE seems to only search MEDLINE using English-language MeSH; Russian instructions on searching PubMed are courtesy of MedInfoRus: Medical Information in Russian--click on "Searching MEDLINE"

An Interlingual Database of MeSH Translations "A number of translations of MeSH are included in the UMLS Metathesaurus. A German MeSH, provided by DIMDI, French (INSERM), Portuguese (BIREME), Spanish (BIREME), Russian (Central Medical Library, Moscow), Italian (Istituto Superiore di Sanita), and Finnish (the Finnish Medical Society) are included in the 2000 Metathesaurus. MeSH has also been fully or partly translated into Dutch, Slovak, Slovene, Swedish, Norwegian, Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic;" a PowerPoint presentation, UMLS Metathesaurus Fact Sheet, United Medical Language Fact Sheet, and UMLS Information, UMLS Knowledge Sources, 14th ed., 2003AA.

Let�s Play Hangman! (Jogo da Forca! Juego del Ahorcado) work on your English, Portuguese, or Spanish MeSH vocabulary using the same language interface or a different language interface.
English:
Click on "DeCS Search" then on "Let's Play Hangman!
Portuguese:
Click on "Consulta ao DeCS" and then on "Jogo da Forca!"
Spanish:
Click on "Consulta al DeCS" and then on "Juego del Ahorcado"

Who Named It? this neat site lists all the medical terms named after a person and also provides a biographical sketch; examples: Alzheimer, Fallot.

Calder Ovid Manual click on "Filtering for EBM"

Evidence-Based Health Care Resources from the Miner Library, has lots of great resources, check out the "Tutorials" and "Tools and Search Filters."

Guideline 57 scroll down to the very last strategy set for a lengthy economics search strategy, under "Economics," line 33 to the end; from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network

Let�s Play Hangman! work on your English, Portuguese, or Spanish MeSH vocabulary using the same language interface or a different language interface: English interface, Portuguese interface: Jogo da Forca!, or Spanish interface: Juego del Ahorcado

If your term (concept) won't map to a relevant MeSH term, there's several techniques you can try to find relevant MeSH.

1. Search for your term in the title field (yourterm.ti.). Chances are, if the word is important enough to appear in the title, the concept should be listed as one of the MeSH in the "Complete Reference" (if using Ovid to access MEDLINE). If using PubMed to access MEDLINE, display the article's "Citation;" the option is above the article citation(s). Look at the "Complete Reference" (or "Citation") of several articles to note possible MeSH. (If you're not getting any hits using the American spelling, try the British spelling of the medical term. Look them up via the MEDLINEplus Medical Dictionary (Merriam-Webster), Intelihealth (Merriam-Webster), or Online Medical Dictionary.)

2. If you're not getting sufficient results, you can also try searching for your term as a keyword in the abstract & title fields (yourterm.ti,ab.). Look at the "Complete Reference" of several articles to note possible MeSH.

3. Maintain good MEDLINE searching habits. Whenever you do a search using Ovid, from the Mapping screen always: a) read the "Scope Note" (keyword possibilities (under the "Used For" section) & provides important MeSH usage notes) b) look at the MeSH term's Tree (to see if you should explode & note other promising MeSH terms). If using PubMed, before you start searching MEDLINE, search for possible terms on the "MeSH Browser;" note the definition of the term and where it appears on the Tree. Another vital habit is to always look at the "Complete Reference" (or "Citation" if using PubMed) of promising articles to note other concepts & MeSH terms you might want to incorporate in your search.

4. Is your patron interested in the infection/illness or in the organism that caused it (eg., Bacterial Vaginosis versus Gardnerella)? If he is interested in the infection/illness, it's usually better to use that MeSH. (However, if you�re not getting enough hits, you can search by ORing both MeSH; I�d recommend attaching the drug effects or radiation effects subheadings to the organism if you�re interested in treating the illness. Example: Staphylococcal Infections OR Staphylococcus/de, re [drug effects, radiation effects].)

5. Try to get additional terms from your patron. Ask him *specifically* what s/he's looking for; ask him/her to imagine what the title of an "perfect" article would be. (This technique was suggested by my friend, mentor, & former supervisor, Juanita Alpuche, MLS, and it works!)

6. Try searching the Permuted Subject Headings List; available in Ovid under "Tools" > "Permuted Index." PubMed's MeSH Browser does not have a comparable feature--you'll get more terms in the print form or via Ovid's Permuted Index.

7. If looking for a specific drug, remember that MEDLINE uses the generic name. To get the generic name (or brand name), go to Drug Formulary from the Medical College of Wisconsin , a wonderful, simple site that provides this information. (Another site is Safe Medication.com from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.) Often, you only need to search using the root (sildenafil rather than sildenafil citrate). The PDR: Physician�s Desk Reference provides generic & brand names, use the pink pages in the front. The MDConsult database provides international brand names & the generic name (also provides other valuable drug info--it's my favorite part about this database). Lastly, some of the MEDLINE article abstracts will follow the drug name with its generic/brand in parentheses. If there's no MeSH for the generic name, do a keyword search ORing the brand and generic names (brandname.mp. OR genericname.mp.)--use the .mp. so you'll retrieve the term in all fields, including the CAS Registry/EC Number field.

8. Drugs can be classified under several broader headings or drug classes. To find them, follow these steps. Ovid instructions: Do a search on the drug--if it is a MeSH term, go to the Tree screen and click on the Contexts button (upper left) to view all the broader headings. PubMed instructions: From MeSH Browser, do a search on the drug--if it is a MeSH term, scroll down the display to see all the broader headings it is indented under. Example: Olivomycins fall under Protein Synthesis Inhibitors, Glycosides, Antineoplastic Antibiotics, and Fluorescent Dyes.

9. When trying to find a MeSH term, if you get no matching MeSH terms with the noun as a keyword, try the word as a verb. For example, search with hospital. You may not get hits for your concept of sending a patient to the hospital. Try hospitalized--this maps to Hospitalization, which is the MeSH term you were trying to find.