What does MeSH stand for in medical research?

MeSH stands for Medical Subject Headings, which serves as a controlled vocabulary used by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) for indexing articles for MEDLINE and other databases. This standardized set of terms allows researchers and healthcare professionals to efficiently search for and retrieve information relevant to specific topics in the medical and scientific literature. Each MeSH term can represent a broader concept or a more specific aspect of a topic, enabling users to refine their searches based on the hierarchical structure of subjects. By utilizing MeSH, researchers enhance the precision of their literature searches, ensuring they can locate studies and data critical to their inquiries. The other terms presented do not accurately reflect the established terminology in medical research.