Predicate Definitions

The table below is a list of predicates in MeSH RDF.

Predicate Name Definition Equivalent XML Data Element
meshv:abbreviation A property of Terms. Two-letter, uppercase abbreviation for a Qualifier term. QUI Q000235 example: GE Abbreviation
meshv:active A property of all classes. A Boolean-typed property that indicates whether MeSH content is active in the current MeSH year. Not Applicable
meshv:allowableQualifier Relates Descriptors to Qualifiers. A specific Qualifier allowed in combination with the Descriptor. DUI D000667 example: Q000627 AllowableQualifier/QualiferUI
meshv:altLabel A property of Terms. A lexical variant for a Term’s prefLabel. meshv:altLabel is a subproperty of rdfs:label. TUI T000003 example: A23187, Antibiotic Term@IsPermutedTermYN="Y"/String
meshv:annotation A property of Descriptors or Qualifiers. Free-text information for indexers and catalogers concerning the use of the Descriptor or Qualifier. DUI: D005858 example: for Germany before 23 May 1949 & after 3 Oct 1990; for historical articles before & after 1949: Manual 36.11; BERLIN is also available Annotation
meshv:broaderConcept Relates one Concept to another. A semantic relationship between two Concepts, usually between the preferred concept and subordinate concept(s) where one is broader in meaning. Example: M0024816 is broader than M0024811. Not Applicable
meshv:broaderDescriptor Relates one Descriptor to another. The immediate parent Descriptor(s) of a given Descriptor based on the TreeNumber hierarchy. Example: both DUI D007254 (Information Science) and DUI D008491 (Medical Informatics Applications) are parents of DUI D016247 (Information Storage and Retrieval). Not Applicable
meshv:broaderQualifier Relates one Qualifier to another. The immediate parent Qualifier(s) of a given Qualifier based on the TreeNumber hierarchy. Example: QUI Q000458 (organization & administration) is a parent of QUI Q000592 (standards). Not Applicable
meshv:casn1_label A property of Concepts. Free-text of the Chemical Abstracts Type N1 Name which is the systematic name used in the Chemical Abstracts Chemical Substance and Formula Indexes. The systematic name is a unique name assigned to a chemical substance to represent its structure. First available in 1995. MUI M0000115 example: Acetamide, N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)- CASN1Name
meshv:concept Relates Descriptors, Qualifiers or SupplementaryConceptRecords to Concepts. Designates a member of a collection of Concepts for a Descriptor, Qualifier or SCR. DUI D000667 example: M0330775 Concept/ConceptUI
meshv:considerAlso A property of Descriptors. Free-text information that refers a user from a Descriptor to other terms which have related roots. DUI D006321 (Heart) example: consider also terms at CARDI- and MYOCARDI- ConsiderAlso
meshv:dateCreated A property of Descriptors, Qualifiers, SupplementaryConceptRecords or Terms. Date in YYYY-MM-DD format when a Descriptor, Qualifier, SupplementaryConceptRecord or Term was first added to MeSH provisionally. This time-stamp may be a year behind the dateEstablished. Upon conversion to a new MeSH maintenance system in 1999, a default value of 1999-01-01 was supplied. DUI D022125 example: 2000-06-22 DateCreated/Year/Month/Day
meshv:dateEstablished A property of Descriptors or Qualifiers. Date in YYYY-MM-DD format when the Descriptor or Qualifier became effective for use; set to YYYY-01-01 where YYYY = year of introduction to MeSH. DUI D023482 example: 2001-01-01 DateEstablished/Year/Month/Day
meshv:dateRevised A property of Descriptors, Qualifiers, or SupplementaryConceptRecords. Indicates that a revision was made to Descriptor, Qualifier, or SupplementaryConceptRecord data in YYYY-MM-DD format. DUI D005290 example: 2011-06-24 DateRevised/Year/Month/Day
meshv:entryVersion A property of Terms. Used for internal NLM processing only. EntryVersion
meshv:frequency A property of SupplementaryConceptRecords. Number of citations indexed with a SupplementaryConceptRecord in MEDLINE/PubMed. Automatically updated monthly in the XML. See also meshv:source definition. CUI C012211 example: 745 Frequency
meshv:hasDescriptor Relates DescriptorQualifierPairs to Descriptors. DUIQUI D015242Q000008 example: D015242 DescriptorUI
meshv:hasQualifier Relates DescriptorQualifierPairs to Qualifiers. DUIQUI D015242Q000008 example: Q000008 AllowableQualifier/QualifierUI
meshv:historyNote A property of Descriptors or Qualifiers. Free-text information that traces the concept in MeSH and is deemed helpful for the online searcher. Headings and entry terms are entered in upper case. Initial characters refer to the year in which the Descriptor or Qualifier was created in MeSH in its current form (i.e., with the same preferred term). A date in parentheses indicates the oldest creation date of terms, provisional headings (before 1975), or minor headings (before 1991), which are reflected in bibliographic citations. Entries without a year date were created between 1963 and 1966. DUI D012441 example: 73(72) DUI D016239 example: 1991; use MEDLARS 1978-1990; for INDEX MEDICUS use MEDLINE 1979-2004 HistoryNote
meshv:identifier A property of Descriptors, Qualifiers, SupplementaryConceptRecords, Concepts, Terms and SemanticTypes. Descriptor identifier is a 7 or 10 alphanumeric starting with the letter D. Qualifier identifier is a 7 or 10 alphanumeric starting with the letter Q. SupplementaryConceptRecord identifier is a 7 or 10 alphanumeric starting with the letter C. Concept identifier is an 8 or 10 alphanumeric starting with the letter M. Term identifier is a 7 or 10 alphanumeric starting with the letter T. The 10 alphanumeric format was implemented for new identifiers created on or after about May 19, 2014. DUI D064418 example in 7-character format: D064418. CUI C000588751 example in 10-character format: C000588751. MUI M0353701 example in 8-character format (associated with D000667): M0353701. DescriptorUI, QualifierUI, SupplementalRecordUI, ConceptUI, TermUI
meshv:indexerConsiderAlso Relates SupplementaryConceptRecords to Descriptors or DescriptorQualifierPairs. A Descriptor or DescriptorQualifierPair that is usually broader than the SupplementaryConceptRecord, and which is suggested as an indexing guideline for addition to the citation if pertinent to the article being indexed. CUI C017372 (lonazolac) example: D011448 IndexingInformation
meshv:lastActiveYear A property of all classes. Indicates the most recent year in which inactive MeSH content was active. Not Applicable
meshv:lexicalTag A property of Terms. A 3-letter value that indicates the lexical category. Valid values with their meanings in parentheses are: ABB (Abbreviation); ABX (Embedded abbreviation); ACR (Acronym); ACX (Embedded acronym); EPO (Eponym); LAB (Lab number); NAM (Proper name); NON (None); and TRD (Trade name). Note that in the XML, a Permuted Term will always have the same Lexical Tag value as the term from which it is generated. T017727 (Germany) example: NAM Term@LexicalTag
meshv:mappedTo Relates SupplementaryConceptRecords to Descriptors or DescriptorQualifierPairs. A Descriptor or DescriptorQualifierPair that is a parent (not the main parent; lacks an asterisk designation in the Source XML) for the SupplementaryConceptRecord and that is automatically added to the journal citation for which the SupplementaryConceptRecord is indexed. See also meshv:preferredMappedTo. CUI C025735 (Aeron) example: D004338 HeadingMappedTo
meshv:narrowerConcept Relates one Concept to another. A semantic relationship between the preferred concept and subordinate concept(s) where one is narrower in meaning. Example: M0353609 is narrower with respect to M0000001. ConceptRelation@RelationName
meshv:nlmClassificationNumber A property of Descriptors. Most MeSH Descriptors have a corresponding NLM Classification (the system for the organization of literature). Descriptors that lack an NLM Classification Number include those that point to more than one number, those in the Z Tree (Geographicals), and many of those in the V Tree (Publication Characteristics). This NLM classification is similar to the Library of Congress Classification (LCC). NLMClassificationNumber
meshv:note A property of SupplementaryConceptRecords. Free-text narrative giving information about the SupplementaryConceptRecord, and may include information such as the registryNumber. CUI C012211 example: growth inhibitor; RN given refers to ((L-Leu)-(S-(R,S)))-isomer; structure Note
meshv:onlineNote A property of Descriptors and Qualifiers. Free-text information intended to direct the MeSH online searcher to alternate search terms. Superseded by a more detailed historyNote when onlineNote is not present. DUI D005290 example: use IRON to search FERRIC AND FERROUS COMPOUNDS 1966-74 OnlineNote
meshv:parentTreeNumber Relates one TreeNumber to another. Immediate ‘parent’ TreeNumber, meaning one level higher in the TreeNumber hierarchy. Example: D03.438.221 is a parent of D03.438.221.173. TreeNumber
meshv:pharmacologicalAction Relates Descriptors or SupplementaryConceptRecords to Descriptors. Reference to a Descriptor describing observed biological activity of an exogenously administered chemical represented by a Descriptor or SupplementaryConceptRecord. DUI D000082 example: D058633 PharmacologicalAction/DescriptorUI
meshv:preferredConcept Relates Descriptors or Supplementary Concept Records to Concepts. The preferred concept is frequently a broader concept that includes narrower sub-concepts, but may also be one among several distinct concepts. The preferred concept is selected as the primary or most prominent representation among the concepts in the literature. meshv:preferredConcept is a subproperty of meshv:concept. DUI D000667 example: M0001025 Concept@PreferredConceptYN
meshv:preferredMappedTo Relates SupplementaryConceptRecords to Descriptors or DescriptorQualifierPairs. Designates a Descriptor or DescriptorQualifierPair that is a main parent (includes an asterisk designation in the Source XML) for the SupplementaryConceptRecord and that is automatically added to the journal citation for which the SupplementaryConceptRecord is indexed. meshv:preferredMappedTo is a subproperty of meshv:mappedTo. CUI C025735 (Aeron) example: D002164Q000031 HeadingMappedTo
meshv:prefLabel A property of Terms. The preferred string for the term. meshv:prefLabel is a subproperty of rdfs:label. TUI T000002 example: Calcimycin Term@ConceptPreferredTermYN="Y"/String
meshv:previousIndexing A property of Descriptors and Supplementary Concept Records. Free-text information referring to Descriptors or DescriptorQualifierPairs that were used to index the concept in MEDLINE before the Descriptor was created. Intended to enable users of new Descriptors to find similar concepts indexed before the Descriptor was created. Includes a date or date range. May include descriptive text referring to a group of Descriptors as “specifics”. Data are not maintained when a Descriptor or Qualifier name changes. DUI D005290 example: Iron (1966-1974). Also used for SupplementaryConceptRecords to refer to the Descriptor or DescriptorQualifierPair to which the SupplementaryConceptRecord was previously mapped. CUI C025735 example: ATROPINE/*analogs (81-86) PreviousIndexing
meshv:publicMeSHNote A property of Descriptors. Free-text information about the history of changes to the Descriptor that may be helpful to the user of the printed Index Medicus publication (ceased in 2005). This includes the date the Descriptor was created in MeSH, changes in the preferred term, earlier status as an SupplementaryConceptRecord, etc. Unlike the History Note, this note reflects the MeSH vocabulary printed at that point in time, not as updated for online databases. Applies only to TopicalDescriptors. MeSH Descriptor labels are in upper case. DUI D000082 example: 1965; for ACEPHEN see MECLOFENOXATE 1990-2002 PublicMeSHNote
meshv:preferredTerm Relates Descriptors, Qualifiers or SupplementaryConceptRecords to Terms. Indicates that the Term is the preferred term for a Descriptor, Qualifier, or SupplementaryConceptRecord. DUI D000667 example: T002019 Term@RecordPreferredTermYN
meshv:registryNumber A property of Concepts. A unique identifier from one of these sources: Enzyme Commission (Example: EC 2.4.2.17; Example for Partial enzyme number: EC 1.4.3.-); Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) (Example: 7004-12-8); FDA Substance Registration System Unique Identifier (UNII) in 10-character format (Example: R16CO5Y76E); or the value of 0 if no match is available from the previous sources. A single MeSH Concept can only have one Registry Number. Used for Concepts related to Descriptors in the D Category Drugs and Chemicals and for SupplementaryConceptRecords. MUI M0000115 example: 362O9ITL9D. RegistryNumber
meshv:relatedRegistryNumber A property of Concepts. An additional unique identifier for chemicals, which is sometimes followed by a label in parentheses. Multiple Related Registry Numbers are allowed for each Concept. For example, these might be salts and/or stereoisomers of the parent compound. Used for Concepts related to Descriptors in the D Category Drugs and Chemicals and for SupplementaryConceptRecords. MUI M0000115 example: 103-90-2 (Acetaminophen). MUI M0068239 example: 75821-71-5 (Ca salt) RelatedRegistryNumber
meshv:relatedConcept Relates one Concept to another. A semantic relationship between two Concepts, usually between the preferred Concept and subordinate Concept(s) where one is neither broader nor narrower in meaning. Example: M0000562 is related to M0000561 ConceptRelation@RelationName
meshv:scopeNote A property of Concepts. Free-text narrative giving the scope and meaning (definition) of a Concept. MUI M0029146 example: Replacement of the hip joint. ScopeNote
meshv:seeAlso Relates one Descriptor to another. Reference to a specific Descriptor to which a user is referred by a “see related” cross-reference. DUI D000009 example: D034861 SeeRelatedDescriptor/DescriptorUI
meshv:sortVersion A property of Terms. Custom version of a Term label used to sort properly in a print product; format is all uppercase. TUI T000288 example: ACETYL COA ACYLTRANSFERASE C SortVersion
meshv:source A property of SupplementaryConceptRecords. Citation reference string in which the SupplementaryConceptRecord was first found. Single occurrence if SupplementaryConceptRecord created since 1980; frequency reports total citations indexed with the term in MEDLINE/PubMed. Possible multiple occurrences if SupplementaryConceptRecord created prior to 1980; term not found on those citations in MEDLINE/PubMed. Number of multiple Source occurrences need to be added to Frequency count for grand total of citations to articles discussing the SCR. CUI C012211 example: Prog Biochem Pharmacol 11:24;1976 Source
meshv:term Relates Concepts to Terms. Each Concept has a set of entry terms and a preferred term that are related to the Concept. MUI M0001025 example: T002023 Term/TermUI
meshv:thesaurusID A property of Terms. Name of a Thesaurus in which the term occurs. The value “NLM” is equivalent to MeSH. Includes year. TUI T000018 example: NLM (1966) ThesaurusID
meshv:treeNumber Relates Descriptors or Qualifiers to TreeNumbers. Alpha-numeric string referring to location within a Descriptor or Qualifier hierarchy. Used for browsing the MeSH vocabulary and for inclusive searches by retrieval systems using MeSH. (Note that the Trees hierarchy is not represented using subelements. The hierarchy is represented by the TreeNumber itself.) Up to thirteen hierarchical levels. DUI D000163 example showing one of four 2014 MeSH tree locations: C02.839.040 TreeNumber
meshv:useInstead Relates DisallowedDescriptorQualifierPairs to Descriptors or AllowedDescriptorQualifierPairs. Descriptor or DescriptorQualifierPair recommended in place of the prohibited combination. DUI D006321 example: D006321Q000002 useInstead D006330. Human readable example using label from DUI D006321: Heart/abnormalities useInstead Heart Defects, Congenital EntryCombination/ECOUT
rdf:type Used to state that a resource is an instance of a class. DUI D015242 example: Ofloxacin has an rdf:type of meshv:TopicalDescriptor. N/A
rdfs:label A property of Descriptors, Qualifiers, SupplementaryConceptRecords, Concepts, Terms and TreeNumbers. Used to provide a human-readable version of a resource’s name. DUI D015242 example: Ofloxacin String