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MEDLINE Indexing Online Training Course

Category Z - Geographic Locations

Indexing Principles

Category Z contains the MeSH terms for geographic locations. This includes terms for continents, countries, each state in the United States, some cities and oceans and seas.

Category Z terms are never indexed as IM concepts.

Index a geographical term when the geographic aspect of a subject is discussed or when the subject has geographical significance.

Health services in rural Mississippi
* RURAL HEALTH SERVICES
MISSISSIPPI
Diagnosis of malaria in Tanzania
MALARIA /*diag
TANZANIA
HUMAN (check tag)

Do not index the geographic term when it is part of the nomenclature of an organism or the name of a substance.

Isolation of Salmonella enterica serovar California from sewage
SALMONELLA ENTERICA /*isol
SEWAGE /*microbiol
(Do not add CALIFORNIA)
Amino acid sequence of antithrombin London
ANTITHROMBIN LONDON/*chem.
AMINO ACID SEQUENCE
(Do not add LONDON)

Last Reviewed: March 10, 2015