What does it mean to “explode” a search term?
The Explode function searches for an index term and automatically ORs it with all of its narrower terms. Exploding is important because documents are indexed by database publishers using the most specific terms possible, e.g., a document about “bulimia” would not also be indexed with the term “Eating Disorders.” Be sure to use Explode for comprehensive searching. During Mapping, an Explode checkbox appears to the right of each MeSH term. Click the checkbox to explode the term. Results will be posted to a new set on the Main Search Page.
