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Guide to Using the MeSH FTP Download Site

MeSH FTP Directory Structure:

MeSH data files are organized in folders by release year with the most recent files being stored in the MESH_FILES dirctory.

MeSH FTP Folders Description
      1999-2010 Includes all annual release files from 1999-2010
         2011
            |
         2XXX
Separate folders for MeSH years 2011 through last year
      MESH_FILES The most recent MeSH files, updated Monday - Friday

Subfolders included under year folder

Folder Name Description
asciimesh MeSH ASCII files
meshtrees Headings with Tree Nodes
mtms MeSH translation files
marc MeSH/MARC files
newterms New MeSH terms and term changes
xmlmesh MeSH files in XML format

 

MeSH data files always include the MeSH Year. Below are example files for the 2016 MeSH year:

ASCII MeSH File Names Description
c2016.bin Supplemental Records for year 2016
d2016.bin Descriptor Records for year 2016
q2016.bin Qualifier Records for year 2016
mtrees2016.bin MeSH headings with tree nodes for 2016
meshnew2016.txt New Descriptor preferred terms for 2016
mnchg2016.txt Tree changes for 2016
mshd2016.txt All Descriptor preferred terms for 2016
replace2016.txt Deleted and replaced Descriptor headings
XML* MeSH File Names Description
desc2016.xml Descriptor Records for year 2016
supp2016.xml Supplemental Records for year 2016
qual2016.xml Qualifier Records for year 2016
pa2016.xml Pharmacological Actions of MeSH chemicals
*Note files ending with gz, and zip are compressed XML files
MeSH/MARC File Names* Description
20160901_label_marc_change.bin MeSH/MARC Update Label File for Sept 1, 2016

20160901_label_marc_full.bin

MeSH/MARC Full Label File for Sept 1, 2016
20160901_marc_change.bin MeSH/MARC Update File for Sept 1, 2016
20160901_marc_full.bin MeSH/MARC Full Release Files for Sept 1, 2016
*Note MeSH/MARC files now start with YearMonthDate. i.e. 20160101 = Jan 1, 2016

 

 

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Last Reviewed: June 26, 2018