What's New for 2006 MeSH®
[Editor's Note: The MeSH Home page has been updated with the 2006 Introduction to MeSH including the New Descriptors - 2006; Changed Descriptors - 2006; Deleted Descriptors - 2006; and New Descriptors by Tree Subcategory - 2006.]
[Editor's Note: Gathered here are links to other NLM Technical Bulletin articles or technical notes that have supporting detail referred to in this article.]
2006 MeSH® Now Available. NLM Tech Bull. 2005 Sep-Oct;(346):e1.
MEDLINE® Data Changes - 2006. NLM Tech Bull. 2005 Nov-Dec;(347):e7.
MEDLINE® PubMed®
End-of-Year Activities. NLM Tech Bull. 2005 Sep-Oct;(346):e4.
PubMed® Notes for 2006. NLM Tech Bull. 2005 Nov-Dec;(347):e11.
t
his article highlights the additions and changes in 2006 Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
Overview of Vocabulary Development and Changes for 2006 MeSH
- 933 Descriptors were added for 2006 MeSH
- 138 Descriptor terms were replaced with more up-to-date terminology
- 50 Descriptors were deleted
Totals by Type of Terminology
- 23,880 Descriptors including 136 Publication Types
- 83 Subheadings/Qualifiers
- 154,371 Supplementary Concept Records (SCRs)
New 2006 Descriptors by Tree Category
Anatomy [A] - 35
Organisms [B] - 85
Diseases [C] - 58
Chemicals and Drugs [D] - 684
Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment [E] - 23
Psychiatry and Psychology [F] - 2
Biological Sciences [G] - 42
Physical Sciences [H] - 1
Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena [I] - 2
Technology and Food and Beverages [J] - 3
Information Science [L] - 4
Health Care [N] - 2
Publication Characteristics [V] - 6
The total is more than 933 because some descriptors occur in more than one category.
2006 MeSH is available from the Web site and can be searched and seen using the MeSH Browser.
Publication Types
For the first time, Publication Types have been assigned Tree Numbers to create a hierarchical arrangement. New Publication Types were also added:
Publication Components [Publication Type];
Publication Formats [Publication Type]; and
Study Characteristics [Publication Type].
During the last year, Support of Research was added as were Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural and Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural.
Three Publication Types have been deleted for 2006 MeSH. This streamlines the use of vocabulary for review literature.
2006 MeSH
Review [Publication Type]
2005 MeSH
Review [Publication Type]
Review of Reported Cases [Publication Type]
Review, Multicase [Publication Type]
Review, Tutorial [Publication Type]
The three deleted Publication Types have been added as entry terms (see references) to Review [Publication Type] and literature indexed with those descriptors will be maintained to the remaining, more general term.
Organisms
The headings for the phylum Mollusca were revised and expanded. The headings for the order Primates were revised. Many entry terms for specific species and genera of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises were promoted into new descriptors. A new subcategory, Mesomycetozoea B8, was created. This is a class of parasitic and saprophytic microorganisms whose origins can be traced to near the animal-fungal divergence.
Drugs and Chemicals
Restructuring continues of the D Subcategory. The following arrays show 2006 and 2005, for comparison.
2006
Inorganic Chemicals [D01]
Organic Chemicals [D02]
Heterocyclic Compounds [D03]
Polycyclic Compounds [D04]
Macromolecular Substances [D05]
Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists [D06]
Enzymes and Coenzymes [D08]
Carbohydrates [D09]
Lipids [D10]
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins [D12]
Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides [D13]
Complex Mixtures [D20]
Biological Factors [D23]
Biomedical and Dental Materials [D25]
Pharmaceutical Preparations [D26]
Chemical Actions and Uses [D27]
2005
Inorganic Chemicals [D01]
Organic Chemicals [D02]
Heterocyclic Compounds [D03]
Polycyclic Compounds [D04]
Macromolecular Substances [D05]
Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists [D06]
Reproductive Control Agents [D07]
Enzymes and Coenzymes [D08]
Carbohydrates [D09]
Lipids [D10]
Growth Substances, Pigments, and Vitamins [D11]
Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins [D12]
Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides [D13]
Neurotransmitters and Neurotransmitter Agents [D14]
Central Nervous System Agents [D15]
Peripheral Nervous System Agents [D16]
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Antirheumatic Agents, and Inflammation Mediators [D17]
Cardiovascular Agents [D18]
Hematologic, Gastrointestinal, and Renal Agents [D19]
Complex Mixtures [D20]
Anti-Allergic and Respiratory System Agents [D21]
Antineoplastic and Immunosuppressive Agents [D22]
Dermatologic Agents [D23]
Immunologic and Biological Factors [D24]
Biomedical and Dental Materials [D25]
Pharmaceutical Preparations [D26]
Chemical Actions and Uses [D27]
The multi-year effort to restructure descriptors with combined activity and structure meanings was continued for 2006 MeSH. Those descriptors remaining solely in D27 are activity descriptors that are used as Pharmacologic Actions (PA). Structural members of these groups were reviewed for proper placement in structural D trees and made PAs to the appropriate activities.
Biological Fusion
To update the different "fusion" concepts in MeSH, changes related to gene fusion and to membrane fusion have been made. For 2006, some 20 new descriptors were created. These include - Artificial Gene Fusion, Oncogene Fusion, Mutant Chimeric Proteins, and Membrane Fusion Proteins. Major types of Membrane Fusion Proteins were created, the most frequently cited were promoted from SCRs and treed under Membrane Proteins. Then the subconcept structures (splitting, merging) and heading mapping were updated on over 170 SCRs mapping to the appropriate new Membrane Fusion Proteins, Mutants Chimeric Proteins, or the old Recombinant Fusion Proteins.
Non-Placental Animal Reproduction
Several new concepts related to reproduction in non-placental animals were created. These include:
Clutch Size
Oviparity
Ovoviviparity
Viviparity, Nonmammalian.
Pregnancy is used with placental organisms only. Clutch Size is to be used with oviparous or ovoviviparous animals only. Litter Size is used for viviparous animals.
Vitamins Category Change
MeSH has previously indented individual nutrients under Vitamins. As some of these are used chemically for other things, vitamins are now viewed in MeSH as an activity and placed in D27 (Chemical Actions and Uses). Individual vitamin compounds have been retained in their appropriate locations as a chemical such as Ascorbic Acid under Sugar Acids, and each has the Pharmacologic Action (PA) of Vitamins. This supports searches for literature on individual vitamins via the automatic PA explode, when searching "vitamins" in PubMed®.
Schulman J. What's New for 2006 MeSH®. 2005 Nov-Dec; (347):e8.
