What does MEDLINE primarily consist of?

MEDLINE primarily consists of a database of biomedical literature citations and abstracts, making it a crucial resource for researchers, healthcare professionals, and students in the medical and scientific fields. It provides access to a vast array of journal articles covering topics such as anatomy, biochemistry, clinical medicine, dentistry, nursing, veterinary medicine, and related fields. The database is maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and includes references from over 5,000 journals published around the world.

The inclusion of citations and abstracts allows users to quickly ascertain the relevancy of articles to their research inquiries. MEDLINE's indexing is governed by a standardized set of terms, known as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), which facilitates effective searching and retrieval of information.

The other options, while related to healthcare and research, do not accurately describe MEDLINE. It does not focus on patents, directories of healthcare providers, or clinical trial registrations, but is instead dedicated to literature documentation and accessibility in the biomedical domain. This specialization in literature makes MEDLINE a foundational tool for those conducting systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and various forms of scientific inquiry.