Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

DB / Metadata Management Program (MMP): Using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH®) in Cataloging


MeSH Trees

  • Each tree is assigned a letter as an identifier

    A. Anatomy
    B. Organisms
    C. Diseases
    D. Chemical and Drugs
    E. Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment
    F. Psychiatry and Psychology
    G. Phenomena and Processes
    H. Disciplines and Occupations
    I. Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena
    J. Technology, Industry, Agriculture
    K. Humanities
    L. Information Science
    M. Named Groups
    N. Health Care
    V. Publication Characteristics
    Z. Geographic Locations

  • Each MeSH term is located in one or more trees
  • The tree structure goes from more general terms to more specific terms

Screen capture of MeSH Browser showing Body Regions within the tree structure.


Last Reviewed: May 4, 2017