FAQ: Index Medicus Chronology
Question: How do I find older medical journal articles?
Answer:
To identify articles published from:
- 1946 - present, search PubMed®. Your retrieval will include both MEDLINE® and OLDMEDLINE records, as well as some other citations not indexed with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®).
- Before 1946, there are a small number of citations included in PMC: PubMed Central, searchable via PubMed. Otherwise, there are no online sources from NLM except for IndexCat™. You need to use Index Medicus® and the other print sources that are described below. These sources can be found at many medical and large university libraries. Note: Index Medicus® ceased hard copy publication with the Dec 2004 edition (Volume 45).
Index Title | Years | NLM Call Number | Volumes | Publisher | Description
| INDEX TITLE | YEARS | NLM CALL NUMBER | NUMBER OF VOLUMES | PUBLISHER | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index Medicus® (IM) | 1879 - 1926 | ZW1 I383 | 45 volumes in 3 series; 1879-1899, 1903-1920 including war supplement 1914-1917, 1921-1926 | Edited by John Shaw Billings, Robert Fletcher, et al.; Published by F. Leypoldt, Carnegie Institution, etc. | Journals, books, pamphlets indexed; Subject arrangement with author indexes; intended to supplement the Index-Catalog, contains some material not in the Index-Catalog. |
| Bibliographia medica | 1900 - 1902 | ZW1 B5836 | 3 volumes | Edited by Marcel Baudouin; Published by Institut de Bibliographie, Paris | Publication of Index Medicus® was suspended from 1899-1902. In the interval, a similar index was issued in Paris by the Institut de bibliographie. In French. |
| Index-Catalog of the Library of the Surgeon-General's Office (ICLSGO) IndexCat |
1880 - 1961 | Z 675 .M4 I38 | 61 volumes in 5 series; 1880-1895, 1896-1916, 1913-1932, 1936-1955, 1959-1961 | Library of Surgeon-General's Office, Army Medical Library, Armed Forces Medical Library, and GPO (Government Printing Office) | Journals, books, pamphlets, theses indexed; Journal articles listed only under subject; Subject-author arrangement each series A-Z, except Series 4 which is A-Mn only. Series 5 excludes journal articles and was published in 3 volumes: Volume 2 is in A-Z subject arrangement. |
| Quarterly Cumulative Index to Current Literature (QCICL) | 1916 - 1926 | ZW1 Q4 | 12 volumes | American Medical Association | Journal articles indexed; lists of new books, publishers, new gov't pubs; aimed at English-speaking, clinical, American doctors; alphabetical dictionary arrangement. |
| Quarterly Cumulative Index Medicus (QCIM) | 1927 - 1956 | ZW1 Q3 | 60 volumes | American Medical Association; Carnegie Institute helped finance 1927-1931 | Journal articles indexed; list of books and publishers; dictionary arrangement. |
| Current List of Medical Literature (CLML) | 1941-1959 | ZW1 C969 | 36 volumes | Army Medical Library; Armed Forces Medical Library | Journal articles indexed; table of contents arrangement with author, subject indexes; use jointly with QCIM since indexed Journals not the same; 1957-1959 the ONLY index. |
| Index Medicus® / Cumulated Index Medicus (IM/CIM) |
1960 -2004 |
ZW1 I384 | 1960-2004, 45 volumes | Index Medicus: NLM ; Cumulated Index Medicus: American Medical Association (1960-1964), NLM (1965- 2004) [GPO] |
Searchable on PubMed. Monthly issues with annual cumulations; subject, author indexes with complete entry under each. Publication ceased with December 2004 edition (Volume 45). |
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