Chemicals and Drugs

Helium

A noble gas with the atomic symbol He, atomic number 2, and atomic weight 4.003. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is not combustible and does not support combustion. It was first detected in the sun and is now obtained from natural gas. Medically it is used as a diluent for other gases, being especially useful with oxygen in the treatment of certain cases of respiratory obstruction, and as a vehicle for general anesthetics.

National Library of MedicineMedical Subject Headings2026

Structured Summary

Abstract

A noble gas with the atomic symbol He, atomic number 2, and atomic weight 4.003. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is not combustible and does not support combustion. It was first detected in the sun and is now obtained from natural gas. Medically it is used as a diluent for other gases, being especially useful with oxygen in the treatment of certain cases of respiratory obstruction, and as a vehicle for general anesthetics.

Chemical Identity

Chemical Information

Molecular Formula
He
Molecular Weight
4.00260 g/mol
CAS Registry No.
7440-59-7
IUPAC Name
helium
InChIKey
SWQJXJOGLNCZEY-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
[He]
MeSH Unique ID
D006371
Source
PubChem CID 23987

MeSH Record

Classification

Broader headings

Related Concepts

Knowledge Graph

Loading graph…

Drag nodes to rearrange; hover to trace links; click a node to open its page.

MeSH Record

Synonyms

2 entry terms
  • Helium-4
  • Helium 4

MeSH Record

Aspects Covered

24 allowable subheadings

Indexed with the subheadings administration & dosage, adverse effects, agonists, analysis, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, chemistry, classification, deficiency, economics, history, immunology, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacokinetics, pharmacology, physiology, poisoning, radiation effects, standards, supply & distribution, therapeutic use, toxicity, urine.

MeSH Hierarchy

Tree Numbers

AMA Style

References

  1. National Library of Medicine. Helium. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH). 2026. Unique ID D006371. http://id.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/2026/D006371
  2. Helium. In: Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium
  3. Helium. In: Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q560
  4. Helium. In: PubChem Compound. CID 23987. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/23987