Free Online Resources For Research
Please feel free to use these at your convenience. We do not own or maintain the information below.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
AkuData: Database for Acupuncture. Searchable links by disease and points. Database is in German but can be translated to English. No full text access.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: U.S. Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
China/Asia on Demand: Index and document delivery service for research materials published in China and Asia. Access to articles requires a fee.
Acupuncture Today: Articles from Acupuncture Today as well as information on herbs and botanicals, vitamins, minerals and supplements, and an acupuncturist locator.
TCMID (Traditional Chinese Medicine Information Database): Clinical application information on Chinese herbs including formulation, herbal composition, chemical composition, molecular structure and functional properties, and therapeutic and toxicity effect.
Western & Primary Care Medicine Journal Indexes with Full-Text Access
DOAJ: The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a searchable index to over 10,000 journals. Nearly 6,000 of these journals are searchable at the article level.
PubMed Central: Free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature & largest component of PubMed.
The Cochrane Library: Free search of The Cochrane Library collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. Website provides free access to abstracts and fee access to entire review.
Highwire Press: hosts over 1,400 scholarly publications. Many provide free access to the articles.
BioMed Central: 196 peer-reviewed open access journals, including four complementary and alternative medicine journals.
ClinicalTrials.gov: Searchable index and access to information about over 170,000 active and completed clinical trials.
Free Medical Journals: Free access to 430 medical journals.
Medical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
MedlinePlus: Operated by the National Institute of Health, this website is targeted to patients and their families and friends. Site features include word lookup plus tabs on health topics, drugs and supplements, and videos and tutorials. Plain-English explanations about wellness issues and disease are provided.
MedTerms: This medical dictionary defines over 16,000 medical terms for non-professionals. Written by doctors, this free online resource is alphabetized. Words may be accessed by first letter or a word lookup search engine.
Stedman’s Online: Historically a required text for med school students, Stedman’s Medical Dictionary is also available for purchase in online subscription form. Subscription provides access to the full dictionary; other subscriptions offer the nursing and health professions dictionary, the dental dictionary, the smaller “pocket” medical dictionary and the abbreviations and acronyms dictionary.
Taber’s Online: Also of import to medical students, the best-selling Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary is available for purchase in online subscription format. Containing 60,000 terms, 30,000 audio pronunciations and over 1,000 images, the online subscription is optimized for smartphones and tablets.
A.D.A.M.: The National Institute of Health maintains the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, which houses over 4,000 summaries of information on medical conditions, symptoms, tests, treatments and injuries. Illustrations and photographs are included, and a mobile version is available for download. Formerly known as Medline, this encyclopedia is designed for the lay population.
GPnotebook: This database is an online reference source targeted toward clinicians. Organized by clinical specialty, the physician’s tool offers quick diagnostic assistance. This service is available as a subscription service but is free to medical students.
Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Michael Murray’s classic reference work on natural medicine offers physicians and patients an alternative approach to treating nearly 100 diseases. Formerly only available in print, this book is now available for purchase on Amazon’s Kindle platform.
MD Consult: This subscription service, aimed at professional medical personnel, offers full-text journal articles, breaking information on new drugs, patient handouts and alerts on the latest medical news. This encyclopedia can be used as a diagnostic aid within the clinic environment or as a research tool. Since the site is peer-reviewed, physicians also use MD Consult as a tool to keep practices current.