Index Section

The Index Section is responsible for the indexing, editing, and citation creation for journal literature for MEDLINE. Indexing involves analyzing and assigning to each article descriptive headings selected from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®), the controlled vocabulary.

The Index Section also performs gene indexing by creating annotated links between PubMed citations and records for genes and proteins in the Entrez Gene database of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).

Much of the initial indexing is obtained from firms under contract to the Library to index journal articles and from International MEDLARS Centers. To ensure the integrity of the database, members of the Section review the indexing done outside NLM for accuracy and consistency and correct errors detected by users of MEDLARS products and services.

For more information about MEDLINE indexing, see:

The Indexing Process

• Frequently Asked Questions about Indexing for MEDLINE

• Online Indexing System (Fact Sheet)

• Online Indexing Training Module

• The Basics of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®) in MEDLINE/PubMed

Indexing Statistics

• Number of Titles Currently Indexed for Index Medicus® and MEDLINE® on PubMed®

• Summary Indexing Statistics: 1965-2005

• Detailed Indexing Statistics: 1965-2008

• More Statistics from the MEDLINE/PubMed Resources Guide

Journals Information

• MEDLINE® Journal Selection (Fact Sheet)

• List of Journals Indexed for MEDLINE

• MEDLINE Journals Indexed from the Online Version

• More Journals Information from the MEDLINE/PubMed Resources Guide

Data Policies

• Errata, Retractions, Partial Retractions, Corrected and Republished Articles, Duplicate Publications, Comments (including Author Replies), Updates, Patient Summaries, and Republished (Reprinted) Articles Policy for MEDLINE (Fact Sheet)

• Construction of National Library of Medicine Title Abbreviations (Fact Sheet)

• More Data Policies from the MEDLINE/PubMed Resources Guide