Abbreviations and Short Form Conventions - 2002

The MeSH vocabulary provides a number of shortened forms and abbreviations for the convenience of indexers and previously for searchers as well. For MeSH terms containing certain words or character strings, the short form shown may be used as a replacement. The Abbreviations and Short Forms list provides a convenient reference. When two or more long forms occur in a term, all are abbreviated, e.g., HOSP SURG DEP. Other shortened forms are:

1. DF (Data Form) abbreviations:
   DF abbreviations are short forms of descriptors found in the indexing annotation. For example, LDH VIRUS is the DF abbreviation for LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE VIRUS. There is no punctuation in DF abbreviations or other designated short forms.
2. Hyphenated MeSH descriptors and entry terms:
   A hyphenated descriptor or entry term has an alternate form with a space in place of the hyphen. For example, the entry term EPSTEIN- BARR VIRUS may be entered as EPSTEIN BARR VIRUS.
3. MeSH terms with words ending in ' (apostrophe): or 's or with a ' (prime in chemical names):
   A term having a word ending in 's or ' has an alternate form omitting the ending. For example, the descriptor TURNER'S SYNDROME may be entered as TURNER SYNDROME, COOMBS' TEST as COOMBS TEST. Chemical descriptors with ' have an alternate form omitting the '. For example, the descriptor 3,3'- DICHLOROBENZIDINE may be entered as 3,3-DICHLOROBENZIDINE.
4. Omitted AND:
   Terms containing the word AND have a short form omitting the AND and all punctuation. For example, ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING may be entered as ABSTRACTING INDEXING. Descriptors containing only a single noun on either side of the word AND may be entered as either of the nouns alone or both. The only descriptors that may not be so shortened are those in which both halves of the expression are themselves MeSH descriptors and the system would interpret the input as one of the individual descriptors and not the combined expression.

   Descriptors or entry terms containing nouns, adjectives, and the word AND have short forms with the first noun and the first adjective (or vice versa depending on the order in the term) but omitting AND and all punctuation. For example:

   	Term	Short Form
   	FACILITY REGULATION AND CONTROL	FACILITY REGULATION
   	COOKING AND EATING UTENSILS	COOKING UTENSILS

5. MeSH descriptors and entry terms with a word in parentheses:

   A term having a word in parentheses generally has a short form omitting the word, the parentheses, and all punctuation. For example, PROMOTER REGIONS (GENETICS) may be entered as PROMOTER REGIONS.

6. Subheading mnemonics:

   For using a topical subheading in online searching, a two-character mnemonic may be substituted.

Last updated: 15 November 2001
First published: 15 November 2001
Metadata| Permanence level: Permanence Not Guaranteed