MedlinePlus is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was built as an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends.
MedlinePlus presents high-quality, easy to understand, relevant health and wellness information that is trusted.
MedlinePlus at a Glance
- Offers information on health topics, human genetics, medical tests, medications, dietary supplements, and healthy recipes.
- Sourced from more than 1,600 selected organizations.
- Provides 40,000 links to authoritative health information in English and 18,000 links to information in Spanish.
- In 2018, 277 million users viewed MedlinePlus more than 700 million times.
Medical Ethics
The field of ethics studies principles of right and wrong. There is hardly an area in medicine that doesn't have an ethical aspect. For example, there are ethical issues relating to
:
- End of life care: Should a patient receive nutrition? What about advance directives and resuscitation orders?
- Abortion: When does life begin? Is it ethical to terminate a pregnancy with a birth defect?
- Genetic and prenatal testing: What happens if you are a carrier of a defect? What if testing shows that your unborn baby has a defect?
- Birth control: Should it be available to minors?
- Is it ethical to harvest embryonic stem cells to treat diseases?
- Organ donation: Must a relative donate an organ to a sick relative?
- Your personal health information: who has access to your records?
- Patient rights: Do you have the right to refuse treatment?
- When you talk with your doctor, is it ethical for her to withhold information from you or your family?
