Making sense of central nervous system infections at the reference desk.

This paper discusses concepts and terminology of some aspects of infections of the central nervous system as it relates to medical reference work. Details of anatomic, biochemical, and pathologic processes are not discussed. Specific terminology involved in this area will be reviewed in order to help ensure a good approach to developing prudent strategies for database searching of the medical literature. MeSH thesauri terms are discussed and text word synonyms are presented that provide tools for thorough searching techniques. Commonly used medical jargon for this area is also explained. Examples of specific search strategies are illustrated.