The National Library of Medicine (NLM), on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, was founded in 1836. The world’s largest biomedical library, NLM maintains and makes available a vast print collection and produces electronic information resources on a wide range of topics. It also supports and conducts research, development, and training in biomedical informatics and health information technology.
The resources listed below are supported by taxpayers, making them free and available to the public.
Research Databases & Indexes
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Clinical Trials This link opens in a new windowClinical trial registry for the US and global research.
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Disaster Lit: Database for Disaster Medicine and Public HealthA database of free literature from associations, organizations, government agencies, NGOs and more on disaster medicine and public health.
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PubMed This link opens in a new window
Biomedicine and life sciences journal articles from MEDLINE and PubMed Central.
Set up a personal NCBI account to set alerts and collections of results.
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PubMed CentralFree full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature.
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PubMed Clinical QueriesSearches PubMed through a set of filters that will bring forward the most relevant clinical evidence.
Drug, Supplements, and Chemical Resources
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ChemIDplusA dictionary of over 400,000 chemicals (names, synonyms, and structures). ChemIDplus includes links to NLM and other databases and resources.
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DailyMedDrug listings and full label information (package inserts) from the FDA.
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Dietary Supplement Label DatabaseDietary supplement labels with product information, ingredients, and manufacturing.
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LactMedReference source for drugs to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. Among the data included are maternal and infant levels of drugs, possible effects on breastfed infants and on lactation, and alternate drugs to consider.
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LiverToxInformation on the diagnosis, cause, frequency, patterns, and management of liver injury attributable to prescription and nonprescription medications, herbals and dietary supplements. Maintained by the National Library of Medicine.
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PubChemSubstance information, compound structures, chemical structures, identifiers, chemical and physical properties, biological activities, patents, health, safety, toxicity data, and much more.
Consumer Health
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Drug, Herbs, and Supplements - MedlinePlusConsumer information on prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. Includes side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more.
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MedlinePlusInformation on medical topics, medical tests, drugs and supplements, and more from NIH.gov. Available in Spanish.
Other Resources
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BookshelfOpen access, full-text electronic literature resource of books and documents in life sciences and health care. Includes a number of major reference texts, including LiverTox and LactMed.
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MedPixA free open-access online database of medical images, teaching cases, and clinical topics, integrating images and textual metadata.
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NLM Digital CollectionsFree online repository of biomedical resources including books, manuscripts, still images, videos, and maps. Materials in the public domain unless otherwise noted.
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The Visible Human ProjectPublicly-available complete, anatomically detailed, three-dimensional representations of a human male body and a human female body, including cross-sectional cryosection, CT, and MRI images.