Action Verbs

This Editorial Guide is used for Education Purposes Only. It is used in the Authoring Courses and Certifications. It is based on the January 2026 Editorial Guide.

Action verbs should be written in noun form within SNOMED CT descriptions. This most often means the root form of the verb will end with a suffix of –tion, -sion, -ment, -al, -ence, or -ance.

• For example,

  • Destruction instead of destroy

  • Incision instead of incise

  • Replacement instead of replace

  • Removal instead of remove

  • Maintenance instead of maintain

However, the root form of the verb may be used when it does not make a word when ending in noun suffixes.

• For example,

  • Control

  • Release

  • Care

Lastly, the verb with a suffix of –ing may be used when the root form of the verb may cause ambiguity in the meaning, i.e., the root form of the verb could also be a physical object.

• For example,

  • Wiring instead of wire

  • Suturing instead of suture

  • Splinting instead of splint

  • Mapping instead of map

  • Grafting instead of graft

Exceptions,

Common usage may dictate some exceptions.

• For example,

  • Repair instead of repairment

Although ‘repairment’ may be considered a valid word, its use has fallen out of common usage in comparison to ‘repair’.

Check for approved and unapproved naming patterns in the Precoordination Naming Pattern Project.

Past tense

A past tense verbal phrase should not be used to name a procedure, since it indicates that the procedure was done in the past.

• Unacceptable example,

  • Hand tendon ganglion excised indicates the procedure was done, as a past tense declarative statement.

• However, the following is an acceptable example using a noun phrase.

  • 11227005 | Excision of ganglion of tendon sheath of hand (procedure)|

Situation hierarchy

Existing descriptions containing past tense verbs should be moved to the

243796009 | Situation with explicit context (situation)|hierarchy.

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