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Understanding Topics

If you think of the Healthwise® Knowledgebase as a library of health-related information, then topics are the library books—each containing information about a specific health condition, test, or medication.

How topics are organized

Most topics are organized in sections. These sections are similar to the chapters in a book.

Illustration demonstrating topic contents list The sections appear in the Topic Contents list, which is found on every page in the Healthwise® Knowledgebase.

Once you find the topic you want, it's easy to browse through the different sections. The links in this list allow you to go directly to sections of interest. The Topic Contents list indicates the section you're currently viewing, the other sections available, and the sections you've visited in the topic.

Some sections you're likely to see are:

  • Topic Overview:
A general introduction to the topic.
  • Symptoms:
The common signs associated with the medical condition.
  • Treatment Overview:
Descriptions of the ways a condition can be treated at home or by a health care provider.

Navigating within a topic:

The topic title and the topic section name appear at the top of the page in the Healthwise® Knowledgebase. These headings can help you remember where you are within a topic.

To view a different section of a topic, select a section name from the Topic Contents list.

Links within a topic: Often the text in a topic contains words that connect, or link, to pages with additional or related information. These links have a different color or appearance than the surrounding text. Some links take you to other parts of the same topic, and others take you to a different topic. Note that the topic title (at the top of each page) changes when you follow a link to a different topic.

Links in the Healthwise® Knowledgebase can also lead you to illustrations, Actionsets, Decision Points, and definitions.

Links that don't work: If you select a link in a topic and nothing seems to happen, check the Options or Preferences for your Internet browser and make sure that JavaScript is turned on.


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 Welcome
Arrow PointerUnderstanding Topics
 Using Search
 Wise Health Decisions
 Illustrations
 Actionsets
 Decision Points