An index is a list of names or topics that are to be found in a book. It is a list arranged in alphabetical order at the end of a book.
The following paragraph shows that the doctor is consulting the index of a medical book to find out which injection is appropriate for Bruno.
“Out came his medical books, and a feverish reference to index began: What poison did you say, sir?” “Barium carbonate”. “Ah yes—B—Ba— Barium Salts—Ah! Barium carbonate! Symptoms—paralysis— treatment—injections of ... Just a minute, sir. I’ll bring my syringe and the medicine.”
You have read about the French Revolution and you want to know more about the Third Estate in the context of the French Revolution. You can refer to the index of the book Living World History by T. Walter Wallbank and Arnold Schrier:
On which pages in this book will you find information about the French Revolution and the Third Estate?
As can be observed from the index of the pages given, we can find information about the French Revolution on page 813 which has the third heading as French Revolution and information about the Third Estate can be found on page 826 under the same heading as given in the previous case.