NETLINES

• Ever been confused about what tests to do for drug monitoring in rheumatological conditions? If so then check out the simple list of drugs commonly used in rheumatic disease on the website of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne's School of Clinical Medical Sciences (http://www.ncl.ac.uk/medi/patients/rheumatology/monitor.htm). Clicking on each drug's name gives information on contraindications, dosages, monitoring, and how to manage specific situations, especially when abnormal results come back from the laboratory.

• The internet has a number of sites on heart murmurs, where, if you have speakers and can play the sound files, you can listen to a selection of murmurs. The page at http://egeneralmedical.com/egeneralmedical/listohearmur.html is simply designed but does the job effectively. It has 64 choices covering a wide range of normal and abnormal heart sounds. Each murmur can be heard by clicking on a descriptive link, and you can easily download the sound files for permanent reference.

• The field of health informatics has many technical terms that are difficult to understand. The glossary at www.coiera.com/glossary.htm helpfully defines a number of words and phrases, such as Arden syntax and Turing test. It does not take long to run through the list or indeed to look at the whole site. In fact the aim of this resource is to promote a guide to health informatics. The site has an introduction to the topic and sample chapters from the book, so there is enough to stimulate your appetite.

• If you are interested in sleep disorders then visit the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's site on the topic (www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/sleep/index.htm). The links are tidily arranged in categories, giving access to a wide range of information of interest to health professionals. Fact sheets are on topics such as restless legs syndrome, insomnia, and sleep apnoea. There is also a video on sleep apnoea, as well as information on drowsiness, driving, and car crashes.

• From the Division of Parasitic Diseases, part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Image_Library.htm is an excellent image library. The images are of parasites and the diseases they cause and are cleverly linked to appropriate text and diagrams. This is a superb illustrated resource that will interest clinicians and laboratory workers. Clicking on a tab at the top of the page leads to more data about diagnostic procedures.