proximal primitive supertype
proximal primitive supertype
A primitive concept that is a supertype of specified concept and is not a supertype of any other primitive concept that is a supertype or the specified concept.
Notes
All concepts except the root concept have at least one proximal primitive supertype concept. In many cases this is a top level hierarchy concept. However, in some case one or more intermediate primitive supertypes may exist between the top level concept and a defined concept.
A concept's proximal primitive supertypes represent aspects of the meaning of that concept that are not formally defined by other axioms.
The chapter on Proximal primitive modeling in the SNOMED CT Editorial Guide explains the role of proximal primitive supertypes in modeling concepts.
Example
In Figure 1 the conceptsC , D , E and F have a single proximal primitive supertypeB. C onceptA is also primitive, but it is a supertype of B so it is not a proximal primitive supertype of these concepts. Similarly conceptsH , J and N have a single proximal primitive supertype G. Concepts L and M have a single proximal primitive supertypeI. Note that G is not a proximal primitive supertype for these concepts because it is a supertype of concept I. In this hierarchy only concept P has more than one proximal primitive supertypes. The proximal primitive supertypes of concept P are conceptsK** **andI** **as neither of these concepts is a supertype of the other.
Figure 1: Illustrative Hierarchy Diagram
Alternatives
Proximal primitive parent
Related Links
primitive concept
supertype
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