Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

A National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings category for diseases, signs, symptoms, and other pathological conditions. It organizes biomedical literature by conditions and their observable manifestations.

Connect

Medical Subject Headings: A controlled vocabulary maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine for indexing and retrieving biomedical information. This category is one branch of MeSH, whose hierarchy supplies its broader organization.
MeSH Tree Structures: Hierarchical arrangements that organize Medical Subject Headings from broad subjects to narrower topics. Tree placement shows how this category relates to broader and more specific MeSH subjects.
Literature indexing: The assignment of standardized subject terms to documents so their topics can be retrieved consistently. This category supplies a standardized subject framework for indexing disease-focused publications.
MeSH Diseases Category: A Medical Subject Headings category grouping terms for diseases and disorders. It is a narrower MeSH branch focused on diseases rather than the full range of findings.
Disease: A harmful deviation from normal structure or function that produces characteristic signs, symptoms, or effects. Diseases form a major class within the category, distinct from isolated findings.
MeSH Descriptor: A controlled-vocabulary term used by Medical Subject Headings to represent a subject for indexing and retrieval. Descriptors beneath this category provide the specific condition terms assigned to records.
Information retrieval: The process of finding relevant information within an organized collection of data or documents. Its controlled terms help retrieve literature despite differences in authors' wording.
MeSH Signs and Symptoms Category: A Medical Subject Headings category grouping terms for signs, symptoms, and clinical findings. This narrower branch isolates clinical manifestations from the broader category's other conditions.
Sign (medicine): An objectively observable or measurable indication of a medical condition. Signs are included alongside diseases because they can be indexed independently of a diagnosis.
MeSH Qualifier: A standardized subheading that narrows a Medical Subject Heading to a particular aspect of a topic. Qualifiers can specify how a condition is discussed, such as its diagnosis or therapy.