Abstract
Purpose
Research with stem cells is a biomedical venture with great scientific impact, and whose development flows over into many other areas. This article aims to present a dual analysis of Spain's scientific output in this field during the period 1997‐2007.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors used bibliometric indicators of a basic nature as well as techniques for the visualization and analysis of networks of scientific information based on a study of KeyWords Plus.

Findings
The output is mainly concentrated in Cataluña and Madrid, and hospitals are the most productive centres (followed by health institutes), where the main authors are affiliated. Main categories are hematology, oncology and biophysics. The outstanding areas of study revolve around the therapeutic use of transplant of hematopoietic progenitors, the processes of generation, proliferation and differentiation of lines of cells, and the study of neurosciences.

Originality/value
This study provides an overview of Spanish research involving stem cells, detecting and representing the main areas of research. The article considers the potential of KeyWords Plus in combination with the proposed methodology as particularly useful for the analysis and delimitation of a scientific domain.