DeCS/MeSH poli-hierarchies
The concept is the knowledge unit of a thesaurus and is limited by its scope note. DeCS/MeSH concepts are grouped in large categories that are hierarchically arranged from broader to narrower concepts. Due to this branched structure, these hierarchies can be understood as the branches of a large tree. By clicking on the “Hierarchy” tab, it is possible to navigate through branches from the most generic descriptor to the most specific one.
But each concept can be part of more than one branch. As an example, take a look at Abortion, Spontaneous:
Abortion, Spontaneous is part of [C] Diseases and [G] Phenomena and Processes categories, in locations that have the following codes:
These are codes that will be written at DeCS/MeSH search field when choosing the “Hierarchical Code” search type. Moreover, it is possible to navigate from one branch to another within the conceptual thesaurus tree in “Tree View” tab and access each record’s terminological content at the “Details” tab.
Category: DeCS tips