BUMC MEDLINE Plus/OVID Tutorial

Boston University Medical Center
Alumni Medical Library

Tutorial Menu Options
Tutorial Home
Instructions for Using this Tutorial
Developing Your Search Strategy
Formulating Your Question
Choosing An Appropriate Database
Selecting the Best Terms
Advantages and Disadvantages of Text Word and Title Word Searching
Selecting the Best Medical Subject Headings
Quiz Section I: Text Word vs. MeSH Searching
Mapping
Subheadings
Tree Display
Explode Function
Focus Function
Combining Sets
Quiz Section II: Combining Sets
Limiting
Quiz Section III: Reviewing the Explode, Focus, Subheadings, and Limit Options
Viewing or Displaying Search Results
Full Text Options
Printing, E-Mailing, and Saving Search Results
Ordering Articles
Searching Tips, Hints, & Reminders
Tutorial Evaluation
Additional Tutorial Topics
Explaining OVID's Main Menu Icons
Searching for a Specific Author
Searching for Title Words
Searching for Journal Names


For More Information...
You will exit this tutorial when you click on the links below:
O V I D TreeHelp

This is the Tree Display. It first shows generic MeSH categories.

When you click on CONTEXTS and scroll down the screen, you will see the tree for your term, in this case, heart diseases.

Tree for Heart Diseases
Database: MEDLINE

Scroll down for highlighted search term.
 Select Subject Heading  Hits  Explode  Focus  Scope Note 
  
  Anatomy (Non MeSH)      
  Organisms (Non MeSH)      
  Diseases (Non MeSH)      
 Bacterial Infections and Mycoses0
 Virus Diseases2771
 Parasitic Diseases680
 Neoplasms32145
 Musculoskeletal Diseases1633
 Digestive System Diseases505
 Stomatognathic Diseases109
 Respiratory Tract Diseases1987
 Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases464
 Nervous System Diseases4290
 Eye Diseases2573
 Urologic and Male Genital Diseases0
 Female Genital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications0
 Cardiovascular Diseases12604
  Cardiovascular Abnormalities107
The heart diseases Tree Display is below, highlighted in purple.

Pay special attention to the terms that are indented under heart diseases. These are the more specific terms in the heart diseases tree or family.

Notice the numbers that appear next to each term. These indicate the numbers of articles that are indexed to each MeSH term.

If you click on the EXPLODE box next to heart diseases, the search will automatically incorporate all of the related terms in the tree.


   Heart Diseases 6195
   Arrhythmia4861
    Carcinoid Heart Disease49
    Cardiac Output, High25
    Cardiac Output, Low1302
    Cardiac Tamponade738
   Cardiomegaly1811
   Endocarditis582
    Heart Aneurysm594
   Heart Arrest2851
   Heart Defects, Congenital4662
   Heart Failure, Congestive10821
    Heart Neoplasms1793
   Heart Rupture152
   Heart Valve Diseases2193
   Myocardial Diseases2600
   Myocardial Ischemia9168
    Pericardial Effusion988
   Pericarditis561
    Pneumopericardium89
    Postpericardiotomy Syndrome25
    Pulmonary Heart Disease213
    Rheumatic Heart Disease600
   Ventricular Dysfunction306
    Ventricular Outflow Obstruction492
   Hyperemia673
  Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular2057
Let's learn more about the EXPLODE, then the FOCUS options.