The model fields contained by _meta are listed in multiple locations as lists of the respective field objects. It may be easier to work with them as a dictionary where the keys are the field names.
In my opinion, this is most irredundant and expressive way to collect and organize the model field objects:
def get_model_fields(model):
fields = {}
options = model._meta
for field in sorted(options.concrete_fields + options.many_to_many + options.virtual_fields):
fields[field.name] = field
return fields
(See This example usage in django.forms.models.fields_for_model.)