What is the difference between MEDLINE, PubMed and PubMed Central?
Answer
MEDLINE, PubMed and PMC (PubMed Central) are all databases run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and widely used in biomedical and other scientific research.
Think of MEDLINE as the core library collection, PubMed as the most popular library search tool, and PubMed Central (PMC) as a smaller, open-access subset.
- MEDLINE - the NLM's main database of biomedical science research.
- PubMed - a free search engine that includes MEDLINE plus other biomedical literature.
- PubMed Central - a smaller, free archive of full-text biomedical journal articles.
Learn more about the differences between these NLM databases.