Chemical Abstracts coverage of the preclinical sciences journal literature.

This study examines Chemical Abstracts (CA) coverage of the journal literature cited by researchers from preclinical science departments affiliated with medical schools. Using references from 70 dissertations written between 1973 and 1977 in the fields of anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology, coverage of journal articles was studied. Approximately 57% of the cited literature was covered. Biochemistry (83.5%), pharmacology (80.4%), and microbiology (76.2%) were covered the best while pathology (27.8%) was covered the worst. Coverage of anatomy (55.4%), immunology (40.1%), and physiology (42.4%) was dependent upon the research being conducted. With the advent of multidata base searching, Chemical Abstracts should be considered as a source of references for preclinical science researchers.