he Entrez MeSH database (see link from PubMed's sidebar) now indicates those terms that are identified by MeSH as Pharmacological Action headings (e.g., Anti-Bacterial Agents, Cholinergic Agents, Heparin Antagonists, Alkylating Agents). These terms are displayed in the database with [Pharmacological Action] following the term (see Figure 1). The corresponding record for the MeSH heading for the term is displayed first. Depending on the search term(s) used, these records may not be sequential in the display of the retrieval.

 

Clicking on the Pharmacological Action term displays the Full format which lists the chemicals (Headings and Substance Names) with that action as noted by MeSH (see Figure 2).

 

Use this new MeSH database feature if you are interested in knowing what chemicals are included in searches using the [PA] tag, e.g., heparin antagonists [pa].

For more information about the Pharmacological Action terms, please see Nahin AM. Pharmacologic Action Headings: PubMed^®. NLM Tech Bull. 2003 Jul-Aug;(333):e6.

By Annette M. Nahin
MEDLARS Management Section

Nahin AM. Pharmacological Action Terms Identified in MeSH^® Database. NLM Tech Bull. 2003 Nov-Dec;(335):e7.