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Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010 Oct;468(10):2621-6. doi: 10.1007/s11999-010-1387-4.
Since 1916 there has been a recognized demand for a method of classification of orthopaedic literature inclusive enough to permit the proper collection and retrieval of all literature on the subject. Today, MEDLINE, available through the PubMed interface, has become the de facto standard for organization and retrieval of medical literature. The Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), used to provide indexing and assist in searching, are partly responsible for this standard. Understanding how MeSH is built and maintained may lead the user to a better understanding of how to use MEDLINE, and what to expect from the indexing of an article.
QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: The purpose of this review is to provide an understanding of the organization of large quantities of indexed material, the indexing process and the considerations involved in developing an indexing vocabulary. WHERE ARE WE NOW?: Successful terminology development and use, a prerequisite for any sharing of information by electronic means, depends on both user (how the user is expected to use the system) and information (how the information is organized) models. MEDLINE has a simple user model and a simpler information model. The user is expected to determine what is relevant and which MeSH descriptors are appropriate. WHERE DO WE NEED TO GO?: While MEDLINE through PubMed is a success as viewed by the number of hits, further improvements will depend on better, faster indexing with a controlled terminology. Terminology development requires careful consideration of the nature of the subject, how users employ the terminology, the overall purpose of the terminology, and the framework of the systems in which it is used. HOW DO WE GET THERE?: For the future, understanding terminology development might enable the user to comprehend some of the issues involved in sharing of other information by electronic means. Further improvements in the availability and accessibility of medical literature will depend on continued maintenance and development of MeSH, as well as on refinement of the indexing process.
自 1916 年以来，人们一直认识到需要有一种方法来对骨科文献进行分类，这种方法要足够全面，以便能够正确收集和检索该主题的所有文献。如今，通过 PubMed 界面提供的 MEDLINE 已成为组织和检索医学文献的事实上的标准。用于提供索引和协助搜索的医学主题词（MeSH）在一定程度上促成了这一标准。了解 MeSH 的构建和维护方式可能会使用户更好地理解如何使用 MEDLINE 以及对文章索引的期望。
问题/目的：本综述的目的是提供对大量索引材料的组织、索引过程以及开发索引词汇表所涉及的考虑因素的理解。
成功的术语开发和使用是任何通过电子方式共享信息的前提，这取决于用户（用户预期如何使用系统）和信息（信息如何组织）模型。MEDLINE 具有简单的用户模型和更简单的信息模型。用户需要确定哪些内容是相关的，哪些 MeSH 描述符是合适的。
虽然通过 PubMed 的 MEDLINE 在点击量方面被视为成功，但进一步的改进将取决于更好、更快的索引和受控术语。术语开发需要仔细考虑主题的性质、用户如何使用术语、术语的总体目的以及它所使用的系统框架。
对于未来，理解术语开发可能使用户能够理解通过电子方式共享其他信息所涉及的一些问题。进一步提高医学文献的可用性和可访问性将取决于 MeSH 的持续维护和发展，以及索引过程的改进。
