Structured Lists Directory

Overview

MeSH (Medical Subject Headings)

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a controlled vocabulary thesaurus for biomedical and health-related information, created and maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). It is widely used for indexing, cataloging, and searching literature in databases such as MEDLINE/PubMed. MeSH has a hierarchical tree structure consisting of 16 main categories (A-N, V, Z), with each category organized in up to 13 hierarchical levels. The 2025 edition contains approximately 30,956 main headings and 323,939 Supplementary Concept Records (SCRs). It covers all aspects of the medical field including anatomy, diseases, drugs, medical technology, and psychology, serving as the standard foundation for medical literature search worldwide.

medicine biomedicine controlled vocabulary thesaurus literature search PubMed MEDLINE indexing medical informatics
code slug name description
A anatomy Anatomy Category containing terms related to body structures and regions.
B organisms Organisms Category containing terms related to biological organisms.
C diseases Diseases Category containing terms related to illnesses, disorders, and symptoms.
D chemicals-and-drugs Chemicals and Drugs Category containing terms related to chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and biological agents.
E analytical-diagnostic-therapeutic-techniques Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment Category containing terms related to medical procedures, tests, treatments, and equipment.
F psychiatry-and-psychology Psychiatry and Psychology Category containing terms related to mental health, behavioral sciences, and psychological methods.
G phenomena-and-processes Phenomena and Processes Category containing terms related to biological and physical phenomena and life processes.
H disciplines-and-occupations Disciplines and Occupations Category containing terms related to health professions and academic disciplines.
I anthropology-education-sociology Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena Category containing terms related to health and medicine from social science perspectives.
J technology-industry-agriculture Technology, Industry, Agriculture Category containing terms related to health-related technology and industries.
K humanities Humanities Category containing terms related to humanistic aspects of medicine.
L information-science Information Science Category containing terms related to health information and information management.
M named-groups Named Groups Category containing terms related to specific population groups and populations.
N health-care Health Care Category containing terms related to healthcare systems, services, and public health.
V publication-characteristics Publication Characteristics Category containing terms related to types and forms of literature.
Z geographicals Geographicals Category containing terms related to geographic places and regions.

A controlled vocabulary thesaurus for biomedical fields created by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.