And a few more random new #2026MeSH:
> Nursing Home Residents
> Cognitive Enhancement
> Reiki
> Tuberculosis Disease
> Royal Jelly
> Thermal Comfort
> Autoimmune-Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants
> Reverse Vaccinology
> Microneedle Drug Delivery
> Vestibular Migraine

new #2026MeSH : #EvidenceSynthesis [publication type]
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

Am I a little giddy about this? Maaaaybeee

speaking of drugs... new #2026MeSH : Drug Dispensaries
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

There's a bunch of protein terms, Extrachromosomal DNA (interesting), but then... (drum roll please)

Looks like a few drugs have moved up from supplementary concept to full #2026MeSH descriptor:

Semaglutide
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

Abacavir (I think this was supp con before?)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

new #2026MeSH : Plant-based Milk
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

For the vegetarians, vegans, and lactose intolerant. "Soy Milk" has been around as MeSH, but this is a broader term for (entry terms):
Almond Milk
Coconut Milk
Nut Milk
Oat Milk
Plant Milk
Rice Milk

new #2026MeSH : Infographic
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

also Infographics as Topic
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

new #2026MeSH : Respiratory Therapists
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

File this under "how was this not a term already?"

new #2026MeSH : Surrogacy
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...
"A reproductive process where a SURROGATE MOTHER carries and gives birth to a child for another person or couple."
Entry terms:
Gestational Surrogacy
Traditional Surrogacy
See also: Gestational Carriers (new in 2025)

new #2026MeSH : Persistent Postural-Perceptual Dizziness
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

I wonder if this is related to POTS.

new #2026MeSH : Sex Differences
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/D000099...

Entry Terms:
Gender Difference
Gender Differences
Sex Difference
Sexual Dichromatism
Gender Dimorphism
Sex Dimorphism
Sexual Dimorphism

<insert long suffering sigh here>

So now to some selected new #2026MeSH terms with occasional commentary and/or snark. I'm going to link to the MeSH database since that seems to have been working again and updated with the new terms. Yay!

For example, #2026MeSH "Global Health" removes planetary health as an entry term. Compare 2025 meshb-prev.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui... to 2026 meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui...

At least WHO still exists as a MeSH term. I wondered if that would get changed or removed meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui...

Before I get into new #2026MeSH terms, I want to say running this yielded some interesting info, like changes to synonyms. These changes matter because it impacts Automatic Term Mapping (as I understand it) and findability because of entry terms.

Other #2026MeSH renames of note with limited commentary because I don't have time to rant include:
"Supermarkets" -> "Food Markets"
"Nightclubs" -> "Drinking Establishments" *snort*
"Roma" -> "Romani People"
"Feminine Hygiene Products" -> "Hygiene Products"
"Gulf of Mexico" -> "Gulf of America" 🙄jfc

A fair chunk of the 41 #2026MeSH renames are minor things like "Pain, Postoperative" to "Postoperative Pain", "Tertiary Healthcare" to "Tertiary Health Care", "Scoping Review as Topic" to "Scoping Reviews as Topic" and such. I'm not going to bother talking about the classification name changes.

Anywhoodle, back to #2026MeSH. Here are the 6 terms that were deleted:
1. Dietary Patterns 👀 (new in 2024 I think?)
2. Disordered Eating Behavior 👀 (only added in 2025)
3. Meta-Research 🤔 (new in 2025)
4. Assessment of Medication Adherence
5. Nonsuppressible Insulin-Like Activity
6. Korarchaeota

If you are wondering how I did all this, I asked Copilot to help and it made python scripts for me (because I don't know python and zero intention learning it). I had it look in the massive #2026MeSH xml data file for anything with date introduced of 2026 or changed from 2025 xml data file.

I've also messed with the MeSH browser and extrapolating unique ID from what looks to be the start of #2026MeSH new terms, Personal Products meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui... and ending with Septal Myectomy meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui...

Screenshot of text reads: Headline results (from summary) Descriptors in 2025: 30,956 Descriptors in 2026: 31,110 Adds (2026 vs 2025): 160 Deletes (2026 vs 2025): 6 Renames: 41 Records with any field change: 30,950 Element-level change rows (long format): Tree numbers: 474 Synonyms (Entry Terms): 1,083 Qualifiers: 64 Registry Numbers: 0 These figures reflect the annual vocabulary maintenance NLM performs (adds, deletes, merges, renames, scope note updates, qualifier adjustments, etc.), which they announce via the Technical Bulletin and distribute in the yearly MeSH Download files.

That tracks with what I've found in playing around in the #2026MeSH data files (see this NLM Tech Bull article www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbul...) using Copilot as my minion. It found 160 new, 6 deletes, and 41 renames.

So not a lot of new, but then again I wondered if we would get any new #2026MeSH at all so some is better than nothing, right? At least it doesn't seem like a lot this year.

That said, based on this NLM Tech Bull article (www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbul...) on NLM classification updates, it looks like there were 160 new descriptors for #2026MeSH, and 42 previously established MeSH descriptors were changed.

Since the "What's New in MeSH" page hasn't been updated since July 2025, the MeSH database has been wonky today (maybe getting updated? 🤞), and the MeSH browser does not make it obvious what is new, changes to #2026MeSH has been a bit of a black box for #medlibs and others.

Just when you thought it was safe to dive into MeSH terms...
I'm popping up a bit late to give a peek at what I've found for new #2026MeSH descriptors. Behold, a #medlibs and adjacent #expertsearching thread!