PMC

PMC: PubMed Central

PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital repository that archives publicly accessible full-text scholarly articles in the field of biomedical and life sciences. It is a critical resource for researchers, healthcare professionals, and students, providing access to a vast collection of peer-reviewed literature.

History

PubMed Central was launched in February 2000 by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The initiative was part of a broader effort to improve access to scientific literature and to support the open access movement.

Features

PMC provides a platform for the long-term preservation of biomedical literature. It includes:

• Full-text articles: Unlike PubMed, which provides only abstracts, PMC offers full-text access to articles.
• Open access: Many articles in PMC are available under open access licenses, allowing free use and distribution.
• Integration with PubMed: Articles in PMC are linked to their corresponding records in PubMed, facilitating easy navigation between abstracts and full texts.
• Advanced search capabilities: Users can perform complex searches using various filters and search fields.

Submission and Inclusion

Articles can be submitted to PMC by publishers or authors. To be included in PMC, journals must meet certain scientific and technical standards. The inclusion process ensures that the content is reliable and of high quality.

Importance in Research

PMC is an invaluable resource for:

• Researchers: Access to a comprehensive collection of biomedical literature supports research and discovery.
• Educators: Professors and teachers can use PMC to find teaching materials and stay updated with the latest research.
• Students: Medical and life sciences students can access a wealth of information for their studies and research projects.

Also see

• PubMed
• National Institutes of Health
• Open access
• National Library of Medicine

Classification