Overviews and Definitions

This is a good place to start looking for information on your health topic. Search these full text electronic databases and evaluated web sites for overviews and definitions.

For Overviews

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Search for comprehensive overviews of medical conditions and explanations and illustrations of surgical procedures. Overviews of conditions generally include: definitions, descriptions, causes & symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, alternative treatments, prognosis and prevention.

Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine

Search for overviews of medical conditions. Most articles include: definition; description; causes & symptoms; diagnosis; treatment; alternative treatment; prognosis and prevention.
Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

Health and Wellness Resource Centre

Magazines, journals, newspapers, encyclopedias, definitions, directories, and information on health and health issues. Material contained in this Resource Center is intended for informational purposes only.
Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

MEDLINEPlus

Search for extensive information on diseases and conditions, prescription and non-prescription drugs and health news. This is an excellent site linking you to evaluated health information, run by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.A).

Everybody

Written for New Zealanders, Everybody provides fact-sheets on health topics, diseases and conditions. Articles are written by medical writers and reviewed by consumer health organisations and health professionals. Contains listings of support groups and an over-the-counter medicines guide.

Selected Health Web Sites

Links to more health information web sites chosen for you by library staff.

For Definitions

Oxford Reference Medical Dictionaries

Includes the Concise Medical Dictionary, A Dictionary of Nursing & A Dictionary of Psychology - all from Oxford University Press.
Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

Credo Reference Medical Dictionaries

Includes the Dictionary of Medicine, Collins Dictionary of Medicine and the Churchill Livingstone's Dictionary of Nursing.
Access this with your library card number and PIN, or at our libraries.

MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary

Search the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary.

Online Medical Dictionary

Definitions relating to medicine and medical science. Also includes: acronyms, jargon, theory, conventions, standards, institutions, projects, eponyms and history. From the Dept. of Medical Oncology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Disclaimer
Our health pages provide access to information not advice.
We aim to provide access to current, accurate health information, however we do not assume responsibility for any errors or omissions in published sources and have no control over the conduct of the companies or organisations operating the web sites we link to. For diagnosis, treatment and medication advice you should consult a health practitioner.
Before you disclose any personal information to another site, we advise you to check its terms and conditions, including its privacy and security policies.