If you’re a writer, you want to get the medical details right. Here’s a curated list of resources to help you do that:
The Merck Manual (Home Edition)
-a complete medical manual, with emphasis on diagnosis & therapy (this version is written for lay people)
http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/index.html
WebMD
-a comprehensive site with information on illnesses, symptoms, medications, etc.
US National Library of Medicine
-world’s largest medical library; PubMed available here (searchable research & studies)
eMedicine
-resource for all things medical, by MedScape
http://emedicine.medscape.com/
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
-wide variety of information on illnesses, infectious diseases, and global issues such as terrorism.
Lab Tests Online
-a public resource for information on lab tests and diseases
Mayo Clinic
-lots of information on symptoms, diseases, and tests
Med Terms
-a medical dictionary for laypeople
Drugs.com
-information about medication (US):
Medbroadcast Drug Info
-information about medication (Canada):
http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info.asp
Gray’s Anatomy
-the complete textbook, on Bartleby
The Writer’s Forensics Blog
-written by DP Lyle, MD.
http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/
Death Reference
-an encyclopedia of all things related to death & dying
http://www.deathreference.com/
National Organization for Rare Disorders
-contains a database on rare diseases
American Psychiatric Association DSM-5
-the diagnostic manual for psychiatric illness
http://www.dsm5.org/Pages/Default.aspx
WHO: World Health Organization
-for all global health issues
Poisonous Plant Database
-by Cornell University
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/index.html
National Association of Medical Examiners
-official information for the public on death certification and the like
The History of Medicine
-by the Science Museum in London, UK
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife.aspx
Forensic Magazine
kim foster 