Surgical Technology

If your topic is more specific than a subject search, you can combine words in a keyword search using the connector word AND. Keep in mind that keywords are not necessarily subject words. For example, a keyword search for surgery will find books on surgery, but also books with the word surgery mentioned anywhere in the book record or used in a different way, such as Rocket surgery made easy. A subject search for SURGERY will give you a list of all subject headings with the word "surgery" in them. Some examples of keyword searches include:

• surgery and microbiology
• surgery and instruments
• surgery and anatomy
• surgical position*

Results from your keyword searches will help you identify appropriate subject headings.

NOTE: The asterisk (*) truncates a term and will retrieve all forms of the word that follow the truncation symbol. For example, surg* will retrieve surgery and surgical.  The asterisk can also be used as a wildcard for an unknown letter, as in wom*n, etc.

A subject search is best if you have a broad topic, for example a common disease such as diabetes or cancer. The STLCC catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings, a standard list of subject terms. Sometimes a subject search will lead you to the correct heading. For example, a search for the subject  will lead to the subject heading .

Below are just a few examples of subject headings you will find in the STLCC Catalog:

• Surgical Technology.
• Operating room nursing.
• Operating room technicians