Health Topics
Official websites use .gov
A
.gov website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A
lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
MedlinePlus provides health information from several different sources. Some pages, like the medical encyclopedia and drug information, are licensed from outside sources. Other pages, like health topic pages, medical tests, and genetic pages, are created for MedlinePlus. Information from different sources is reviewed and updated on different schedules.
Here's how information hosted on MedlinePlus is reviewed and updated:
- Updated as new information becomes available.
- Broken links are checked and fixed daily.
- A “Last updated” date indicates when the topic summary and/or the links on the page were reviewed and updated.
- Fully reviewed at least every 3 years.
- Content is also updated as needed between review cycles.
- A “last updated” date indicates when the medical test was reviewed and updated.
- Condition, gene, and chromosome summaries, as well as sections of Help Me Understand Genetics, are reviewed by experts in genetics before being posted to MedlinePlus and with each substantial revision.
- Feedback on select content is provided by patient support and advocacy groups.
- A “last updated” date indicates when the information was reviewed and updated.
- New and updated articles and illustrations are added monthly.
- A review date and the names of medical reviewers are included near the bottom of each encyclopedia page.
- A.D.A.M. Editorial Policy
- Drug information from AHFS® Consumer Medication Information, copyrighted by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Inc.
- New and updated drug pages are added monthly.
- Content is revised when there are important changes to a drug's information.
- A "last revised" date is available near the bottom of each drug page.
- Supplement information from the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database Consumer Version
- New and updated supplement pages are added monthly.
- A "last revised" date is available near the bottom of each supplement page.
- Natural Medicines Editorial Principles and Process
Health information in multiple languages
Do you have a suggestion for an update to MedlinePlus? Please use the "Customer Support" link at the top of any page to send us your recommendation.