# substrate

## substrate

The SNOMED CT content by which an expression constraint is evaluated or a query is executed.

#### Notes

* Two distinct types of substrate are directly relevant to use of SNOMED CT:
  * The *substrate* for an expression constraint that generates the membership of a subset or reference set.
  * The *substrate* for a clinical analytics query, consisting of a collection of records either coded in or mapped to SNOMED CT.

#### Examples

* Substrates for subset generation include:
  * A particular version of a specified SNOMED CT edition
  * Members of a preexisting reference set.
* Substrates for analytics include:
  * SNOMED CT encoded electronic health records from a particular institution or department.
  * A disease registry database containing or mapped to SNOMED CT.

##

<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScTmbZIf0UEQwYDkY27EEWBkaiYkHSbR0_9DmFrMLXoQLyL7Q/viewform?usp=pp_url&#x26;entry.1767247133=SNOMED+Glossary&#x26;entry.670899847=substrate" class="button primary">Provide Feedback</a>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.snomed.org/snomed-international-documents/snomed-ct-glossary/s/substrate.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
