snomed ct expression

SNOMED CT expression

A structured combination of one or more concept identifiers that represents an idea.

Notes

• An expression containing a single concept identifier is referred to as a precoordinated expression. An expression that contains two or more concept identifiers is a postcoordinated expression.

• The syntax used to represent SNOMED CT expressions is called the SNOMED CT compositional grammar and is formally defined in the Compositional Grammar - Specification and Guide.

• The concept identifiers in a postcoordinated expression are related to one another in accordance with rules expressed in the SNOMED CT Concept Model. These rules allow an expression to refine the meaning of a concept by applying more specific values to particular attributes of a more general concept.

Example

• The expression 284196006:363698007=770850006 represents a burn to the skin of the left index finger.

• An expression can also include the terms related to each of the identified concepts as shown below:

284196006 |burn of skin| : 363698007 |finding site| = 770850006 |Skin structure of left index finger|

Alternatives

• Expression

Related Links

• Glossary

  • precoordinated expression

  • postcoordinated expression

  • focus concept

  • refinement

  • context wrapper

• SNOMED computable languages

  • SNOMED CT compositional grammar

  • SNOMED CT expression constraint

  • SNOMED CT template

• Specification

  • Compositional Grammar Specification and Guide

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