The multilingual thesaurus Descriptors in Health Sciences/Medical Subject Headings (DeCS), maintained by the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (BIREME/PAHO/WHO), has incorporated 206 new descriptors in its 2025 update, 192 from MeSH and 14 inserted in categories exclusive to DeCS. The latest version was made available for consultation on March 28, 2025.
With an increase of 0.8 % compared to the previous edition, DeCS brings together around 735,000 terms (descriptors and synonyms) in four languages, remaining the reference vocabulary for organizing and retrieving scientific and technical health literature.
Main changes to the 2025 edition
Categories with the highest number of new descriptors
- L – Information Science… 45
- D – Chemicals and Drugs… 44
- C – Diseases … 19
- N – Health Care… 19
- E – Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques, and Equipment… 16
- F – Psychiatry and Psychology… 13
- SP – Public Health… 12
- I – Anthropology, Education, Sociology, and Social Phenomena… 8
- G – Phenomena and Processes… 6
- M – Named Groups… 6
DeCS and MeSH special projects
The 2025 edition adjusts the vocabulary in line with debates on technology and inclusion. Category L – Information Science has expanded the artificial intelligence theme, incorporating descriptors such as Generative Artificial Intelligence; Large Language Models and Generative Adversarial Networks, terms used in studies on text and image creation algorithms.
Terminology related to gender and sexuality was also reviewed. Expressions such as Gestational Carriers and Gender-Affirming Surgery replace previous names, bringing DeCS into line with international recommendations for inclusive language.
In partnership with experts from the VHL Nursing, the update introduces descriptors that deal with the profession as a social practice and the health work process, as well as changes to scope notes and the inclusion of various synonyms to existing descriptors.
The Homeopathy category saw the completion of the revision that began in 2022, with a hierarchical reorganization. Medicines are now classified by animal, plant, viral or bacterial origin, which simplifies the search by type of raw material.
In response to suggestions from users, the DeCS exclusive categories now include strategic descriptors for Public Health, such as Protected Residences for Persons with Psychiatric Disorders, Epizootic, Vaccination Dropout Rates and Event Supposedly Attributable to Vaccination and for Health Surveillance, such as Bacilloscopy. The additions reinforce the importance of continuous dialog with indexers, researchers and health professionals, whose feedback keeps the thesaurus aligned with the information demands of practice and research.
Launch webinar
Broadcast live on April 3, 2025, the webinar presenting the 2025 edition brought together 193 participants from 16 countries. The audience was mainly from Brazil (112 participants; 58 %), followed by Colombia (19; 10 %), Argentina (15; 8 %) and Honduras (13; 7 %). There were also participants from Angola (1), Bolivia (3), Chile (2), Costa Rica (3), El Salvador (6), Guatemala (4), Mexico (1), Panama (1), Peru (4), Dominican Republic (3), Uruguay (5) and Venezuela (1).
The event featured presentations by Josilaine Oliveira Cezar (PUC-PR), Ana Cristina Espindola Campos and Luciana Piovezan Rio Branco (both from BIREME/PAHO/WHO), who covered DeCS applications, details of the 2025 update and a retrospective of the 2024 edition.
The 2025 edition of DeCS reaffirms BIREME’s commitment to keeping the thesaurus aligned with the evolution of scientific knowledge and the terminological demands of the region. More information is available on the annual update at the DeCS 2025 Edition.