What are subject headings?
They are the official terms that librarians use to describe the content of a particular item. They describe what an item (book, journal article, video, etc.) is "about". Subject headings are very useful in helping you locate materials on a particular topic. Medical subject headings are developed by the National Library of Medicine, and are often referred to as MeSH terms. These subject headings may be used to locate materials on particular topics in medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health and the basic biomedical and pre-clinical sciences.
All of the books and journals that are located in the Health Science Center Libraries are cataloged using these MeSH terms, therefore you should use them in your topical searching in the University of Florida Catalog . Appropriate MeSH terms may be located through the online MeSH Browser or by using the printed Medical Subject Headings Annotated Alphabetic List (big green books).
When searching MeSH terms in the UF Catalog in Catalog Advanced Mode, choose subjects, medical.
Medical Subject Headings may also be used in the PubMed database, to help you find citations to journal articles in the above subject areas. In PubMed, use the electronic MeSH Browser to identify and search MeSH terms.
Other libraries on the University of Florida campus do not catalog their materials using Medical Subject Headings. They use general subject headings developed by the Library of Congress (LC). LC subject headings are not as useful for medical subjects as MeSH terms, so their use for medical topics is not recommended. LC subject headings may be located using the Library of Congress Subject Headings(big red books) available in the reference department of most UF campus libraries. When searching LC terms in the UF Catalog on Catalog Advanced Mode, choose subjects, LC.
