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MedlinePlus: Home

What is MedlinePlus?

MedlinePlus is a free, public online source provided by the National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus offers health information in non-technical, understandable language. You do not need to be a health professional to use, although it is used by many health providers.

MedlinePlus contains carefully selected links to online health information resources. These links are pre-formulated searches of the MEDLINE database via PubMed that allows you to find references to the most recent articles on a topic. MedlinePlus also contains information resources on drugs, supplements, and herbs in addition to AFHS Consumer Medication Information and Natural Standards.

Getting Started with MedlinePlus

Find MedlinePlus at https://medlineplus.gov

You can also get to MedlinePlus from the TTUHSC Libraries homepage Databases A-Z list.

The main categories of MedlinePlus information appear on the left side of the screen (Health Topics, Drugs & Supplements, Videos & Tools, and Medical Encyclopedia). Health Topics and Drugs & Supplements are good sources for quickly finding information by topic or by drug name.

Searching MedlinePlus Health Topics

Clicking on Health Topics allows you to find health topics by letter or broad group. Under Health Topics you are able to read about symptoms, causes, treatments, and prevention for over 1000 diseases, illnesses, health conditions and wellness issues. MedlinePlus health topics are regularly reviewed, and links are updated daily.

Note: You could also use the Search box, but it is generally more effective to use Health Topics.

Drugs & Supplements

Clicking on the Drugs & Supplements tab allows you to search for information about a drug, herb, or supplement name.

Searching for drugs is very similar to searching in health topics. Select the appropriate letter range for the drug in which you are interested in, then scroll through the list until you find it.

Videos & Tools

In the Videos & Tools section you can watch health videos on topics such as anatomy, body systems, and surgical procedures. You can also test your knowledge with interactive tutorials and games and check your health with calculators and quizzes.