What’s new in 2007 DeCS

This article highlights the additions and changes in the DeCS vocabulary in 2007.

In addition to the annual changes related to the MeSH vocabulary, the main novelty in the 2007 DeCS is the review of MeSH scope note translations in both Spanish and Portuguese, due to recent MeSH scope note changes.

Overview of Vocabulary Development and Changes

• 494 MeSH descriptors were added. The ten subcategories receiving the greatest additions were the amino acids, peptides and proteins (129), enzymes and coenzymes (45), viruses (39), macromolecular substances (25), male urogenital diseases (17), lipids (15), plants (12), organic compounds (12), bacteria (11), and nervous system diseases (11);
• 99 MeSH descriptors were replaced with more up-to-date terminology;
• 22 MeSH descriptors were eliminated

New Descriptors by Tree Category

A – Anatomy - 23
B – Organisms - 61
C – Diseases - 70
D – Chemicals and Drugs - 255
E – Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment - 35
F – Psychiatry and Psychology - 6
G – Biological Sciences – 53
H – Natural Sciences – 7
HP – Homeopathy - -1
I – Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena - 3
J – Technology, Industry, Agriculture – 7
K – Humanities - 0
L – Information Science – 1
M – Named Groups - 1
N – Health Care – 1
SH – Science and Health - 1
SP – Public Health - 0
V – Publication Characteristics - 0
VS – Health Surveillance – 0
Z – Geographicals - 0

The total is more than 494 because some descriptors occur in more than one category.

DeCS 2007 edition is available for online searching through the DeCS Search or directly from the BIREME homepage.

Totals by Type of Terminology

Annual numeric variation	2006	2007	difference	variation
Total MeSH descriptors (MH+PT)	23880	24357	477	2%
Total MeSH subheadings (MQ)	83	83	0	0%
Total DeCS descriptors (DH+DQ)	4728	4727	-1	0%
Total DeCS synonyms per language average	28964	30043	1079	3,7%
Total Concepts	28691	29167	476	2%

MH= MeSH Headings; PT=Publication Types; MQ=MeSH Subheadings; DH=DeCS Headings; DQ=DeCS Subheadings

Organisms

Thirty-one new virus descriptors were added and 27 descriptors were replaced with more up-to-date terminology. Numerous descriptors for specific DNA viruses were added.

Drugs and Chemicals

About half of the new descriptors in 2007 DeCS/MeSH are drugs or chemicals. Of those, 136 are categorized as amino acids, peptides, and proteins (D12). Many descriptors for apolipoproteins, interleukin receptors, and many specific keratins were added.

Sources:

Schulman J. What's New for 2007 MeSH®. 2006 Nov-Dec; (353):e2. Available on the Internet: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd06/nd06_mesh.html

Additional information: MeSH® Category V Terms: Change in Treatment from MeSH Heading to Publication Type During Year-End-Processing for Both MEDLINE® and NLM Catalog

DeCS Unit/BIREME/PAHO/WHO

Date of last update: March 2007