American National Standards Institute

A private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States.

Notes

• The organization also coordinates U.S. standards with international standards.

Alternatives

• ANSI

Related Links

• http://www.ansi.org

active

This is an abbreviation for active component.

active component

A SNOMED CT component that is intended for use.

Notes

• Release files contain active and inactive components to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A component is active when the most recent row with the relevant component.id in the full release file has the value component.active =1 (one). The most recent row for a component is determined based on the component.effectiveTime value.

ABNF

This is an abbreviation for Augmented Backus-Naur Form.

Augmented Backus-Naur Form

A language used to define the formal syntax of another language in computer science.

Notes

• Augmented Backus-Naur Form is:

* used to define syntax for Internet specifications.

* defined by Internet Standard 68, RFC 5234.

Alternatives

• ABNF

Related Links

• Internet Engineering Task Force

• Wikipedia

A concept that is intended for use.

• Release files contain active and inactive concepts to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A concept is active when the most recent row with the relevant concept.id in the full release file has the value concept.active =1 (one). The most recent row for a concept is determined based on the concept.effectiveTime value.

A description that is intended for use.

• Release files contain active and inactive descriptions to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A description is active when the most recent row with the relevant description.id in the full release file has the value description.active =1 (one). The most recent row for a description is determined based on the description.effectiveTime value.

ancestor

This is an abbreviation for supertype ancestor.

supertype ancestor

A concept that is a supertype of a specified concept.

Notes

• A supertype ancestor Includes the supertype parents and the supertype parents of each supertype parent, until the root concept is reached.

• The term supertype is synonymous with supertype ancestor. However, it is sometime helpful to use the term supertype ancestor to emphasize inclusion of all supertypes not just supertype parents.

Example

• The figure below shows an example hierarchy in which concept S has seven supertype ancestors A, B, D, E, I, J and K.

• Ancestor

This is an abbreviation for American National Standards Institute.

A private non-profit organization that oversees the development of voluntary consensus standards for products, services, processes, systems, and personnel in the United States.

• The organization also coordinates U.S. standards with international standards.

• ANSI

attribute in group cardinality constraint

A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same attribute group.

Notes

• Constraints on attribute in group cardinality apply only to non-redundant attributes. A redundant attribute is an attribute with a value that is subsumed by another attribute in the same group.

• Cardinality constraints are represented by square brackets containing a minimum value value represented as an integer, optionally followed by two dots and a maximum value represented as an integer or as an asterisk *****.

  • If the maximum is omitted then the maximum cardinality is the same as the minimum cardinality.

  • If the maximum is an asterisk ***** the maximum cardinality is unlimited.

• Attribute in group cardinality is NOT the same as attribute group cardinality constraint.

Attribute group cardinality constraint is defined as:

__

• The following expression constraint restricts cardinality in-group and would require a clinical finding whose definition has no more than one finding site in each group. However, it permits multiple groups to exist as there are cardinality constraints on the group.

< : {[0..1] = < }

• In contrast, the following expression constraint is satisfied by any clinical finding whose definition has two or more non-redundant finding sites, irrespective of the attribute group in which they are contained.

< : [2..*] = <

• A clinical finding could satisfy both the above constraints by have two or more groups each of which contains one finding site.

alpha release package

A SNOMED CT release package made available only for initial review and testing by implementers and other stakeholders.

Notes

• An alpha release package must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

• An alpha release is used to test the format and content of the SNOMED CT release. Feedback is elicited and changes are made prior to publication of the beta release.

• Alpha releases were formerly known as a technology preview releases.

• Alpha package

• Alpha release

An organization or individual that has been issued a license to use SNOMED CT by SNOMED International.

• Usage must be in accordance with the SNOMED CT Affiliate License Agreement.

• Affiliate

• IHTSDO Affiliate

application programming interface

A set of rules and specifications that enable communication between software programs.

Notes

• The way an application programming interface operates is similar to a user interface, which facilitates interaction between humans and computers.

Alternatives

• API

Related Links

• Wikipedia

API

This is an abbreviation for Application Programming Interface.

Application Programming Interface

A set of rules and specifications that enable communication between software programs.

Notes

• The way an application programming interface operates is similar to a user interface, which facilitates interaction between humans and computers.

Alternatives

• API

Related Links

• Wikipedia

Affiliate Edition

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT Affiliate Edition

SNOMED CT Affiliate Edition

A set of SNOMED CT components and reference set members that either belong to a focus module identified by an Affiliate Licensee with an allocated extension namespace identifier, or belong to one of the modules on which that module depends.

Notes

• The focus module is part of the extension for which that Affiliate is responsible.

• An Affiliate Edition may extend the SNOMED CT International Edition or a National Edition.

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Introduction

The purpose of this document is to serve as a comprehensive glossary of terms and phrases commonly employed within the SNOMED CT community. As an international standard for health terminology, SNOMED CT is utilized by a diverse group of professionals, including clinicians, researchers, and developers, each of whom may encounter unique terms and concepts. This glossary aims to provide clear, precise definitions and explanations, facilitating a deeper understanding and more effective communication among users.

Whether you are new to SNOMED CT or an experienced member seeking to refine your knowledge, this resource will assist you in navigating the complex landscape of health terminology. By demystifying the terminology and concepts associated with SNOMED CT, this glossary helps ensure that users can more effectively engage with the system, fostering collaboration and innovation across the global healthcare community.

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Affiliate

This is an abbreviation for Affiliate Licensee.

Affiliate Licensee

An organization or individual that has been issued a license to use SNOMED CT by SNOMED International.

Notes

• Usage must be in accordance with the SNOMED CT Affiliate License Agreement.

Alternatives

• Affiliate

• IHTSDO Affiliate

• SNOMED International Affiliate**

Affiliate License

This is an abbreviation for Affiliate License Agreement

Affiliate License Agreement

The agreement between an Affiliate Licensee and SNOMED International.

Notes

• The agreement allows developers and implementers to use the SNOMED CT International Release and distribute the terminology to their sub-licensees as part of a software system.

Alternatives

• Affiliate License

• SNOMED CT Affiliate License Agreement

classifiable form expression

A syntactically valid and concept model compliant representation of the close-to-user form expression.

Notes

• The classifiable form expression serves as the input to the classifier, enabling compositional expressions to be classified with SNOMED CT content

• In the classifiable form expression , ungrouped attributes and role groups have been validated and appropriately applied to the definition of the focus concept

Alternatives

• CF expression

Affiliate License Agreement

The agreement between an Affiliate Licensee and SNOMED International.

Notes

• The agreement allows developers and implementers to use the SNOMED CT International Release and distribute the terminology to their sub-licensees as part of a software system.

Alternatives

• Affiliate License

• SNOMED CT Affiliate License Agreement

Related Links

A SNOMED CT release package made available for review and testing only.

• Implementers and other stakeholders review and test the beta release.

• The beta release package is made available prior to the production release. It must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

• The beta release status indicates it is expected to subsequently be confirmed as a production release. If there is significant issue in format or content, it may be withdrawn, or replaced with an updated

Is additional information that can be associated to SNOMED CT components and reference set members.

• This extra information may be of value when evaluating a particular change to a SNOMED component or aid in implementation of SNOMED CT.

• Annotations are non-defining, so they do not have any impact on the classification of SNOMED CT concepts.

• Annotations are not mandatory for all components or reference set members; they can be used as needed for a particular use case.

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT component.

A concept, description, or relationship that conforms with the SNOMED CT logical model.

• Components are released and distributed in file formats that conform to the Release File Specification.

• Components may be part of the SNOMED CT International Edition or in an authorized extension.

A concept that represents the target of a relationship or the value of an expression refinement in a postcoordinated expression.

• An attribute value applied to an attribute name is referred to as an attribute value pair.

• An attribute value pair can represent a defining characteristic of a concept or an expression refinement.

• In the Relationship file , the attribute name is represented by the Relationship.typeId and the

A language used to define the formal syntax of another language in computer science.

• Augmented Backus-Naur Form is:

• ABNF

• Internet Engineering Task Force

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT concept model.

The set of rules that determines the permitted sets of relationships between particular types of concepts.

• The c oncept model specifies the attributes that can be applied to concepts in particular domains and the ranges of permitted values for each attribute. There are additional rules on the cardinality and grouping of particular types of relationships.

• Concept model

• Meanings of the word code commonly used in connection with SNOMED CT and the services, applications and organizations that use SNOMED CT include:

  1. SNOMED CT concept identifiers and expressions used to represent clinical meanings may sometimes be informally referred to as "SNOMED codes".

  2. Codes in code systems or classifications that are used with or mapped to/from SNOMED CT.

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT core file.

A distribution file used to represent the main SNOMED CT components (concepts, descriptions and relationships).

• Previously, the term core was also used to refer to the content of the SNOMED CT International Release, but this usage is deprecated.

• The agreement contains a specific legal definition of the term "SNOMED CT Core", which includes all content controlled, maintained and distributed by SNOMED International.

A combination of an attribute name and an attribute value used to specify a defining characteristic of a concept.

• The attribute name __ identifies the type of information and the attribute value __ provides a value _. _

• An attribute value pair can represent a defining characteristic of a concept or an expression refinement.

• In the relationship file , the attribute name is represented by the relationship.typeId and the attribute value by the relationship.

This is an abbreviation for beta release package.

A SNOMED CT release package made available for review and testing only.

• Implementers and other stakeholders review and test the beta release.

• The beta release package is made available prior to the production release. It must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

This is a synonym for beta release package.

A SNOMED CT release package made available for review and testing only.

• Implementers and other stakeholders review and test the beta release.

• The beta release package is made available prior to the production release. It must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

A concept with a specific meaning defined by an authoritative source.

• National or international professional bodies or standards organizations are sources of authoritative concepts.

• Taxonomic groupings of organisms are only added to the SNOMED CT International Release where an appropriate authoritative source reference is provided (see Organism groupings)

A SNOMED CT identifier that uniquely identifies a concept.

• The concept identifier uniquely identifies the clinical idea represented by the concept.

• The concept identifier is used in expressions and other information artefacts to represent the identified concept.

A constraint on the number of times that an attribute group may be included in the same concept definition or expression.

• Cardinality constraints are represented by square brackets containing a minimum value value represented as an integer, optionally followed by two dots and a maximum value represented as an integer or as an asterisk *****.

  • If the maximum is omitted then the maximum cardinality is the same as the minimum cardinality.

  • If the maximum is an asterisk ***** the maximum cardinality is unlimited.

This is a synonym for description logic classification.

A process that generates a set of logically consistent inferences by applying description logic rules to the stated view of concept definitions.

• Automatic classification

This is a synonym for attribute in group cardinality.

The number of times that a specific attribute is included in the same attribute group.

• This term may sometimes be used as an informal abbreviation for attribute in group cardinality constraint which is defined as follows:

  • A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same attribute group.

A relationship that is intended for use.

• Release files contain active and inactive relationships to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A relationship is active when the most recent row with the relevant relationship.id in the full release file has the value relationship.active =1 (one). The most recent row for a relationship is determined based on the relationship.effectiveTime value.

component history

A record of creation or modification of a component between SNOMED CT versions.

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clinical decision support

A service that assists clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

Notes

• A clinical decision support system is a computer system or software application designed to assist clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

Alternatives

• CDS

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attribute cardinality constraint

A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same concept definition or expression.

Notes

• Constraints on attribute cardinality apply only to non-redundant attributes. A redundant attribute is an attribute with a value that is subsumed by another attribute in the same concept definition or expression.

• Cardinality constraints are represented by square brackets containing a minimum value value represented as an integer, optionally followed by two dots and a maximum value represented as an integer or as an asterisk *****.

  • If the maximum is omitted then the maximum cardinality is the same as the minimum cardinality.

  • If the maximum is an asterisk ***** the maximum cardinality is unlimited.

• The following expression constraint is satisfied by any clinical finding whose definition has two or more non-redundant finding sites, irrespective of the attribute group in which they are contained.

< : [2..*] = <

binomial nomenclature

The formal system for the two-part names of species.

Notes

• The binomial nomenclature is standardized and internationally accepted.

• The two parts of the _binomial nomenclature _ are the genus and species.

• SNOMED CT includes the binomial nomenclature name for organism species and follows the convention of using uppercase for the initial letter of the genus name and lowercase for the initial letter of the species name.

Example

• The concept has the following associated terms:

Fully specified name Preferred term Other synonyms

Note that both the fully specified name and the preferred term use the binomial nomenclature .

• Binomial format

• Wikipedia

binomial format

This is a synonym for binomial nomenclature.

binomial nomenclature

The formal system for the two-part names of species.

Notes

• The binomial nomenclature is standardized and internationally accepted.

• The two parts of the _binomial nomenclature _ are the genus and species.

• SNOMED CT includes the binomial nomenclature name for organism species and follows the convention of using uppercase for the initial letter of the genus name and lowercase for the initial letter of the species name.

Example

• The concept has the following associated terms:

Fully specified name Preferred term Other synonyms

Note that both the fully specified name and the preferred term use the binomial nomenclature .

• Binomial format

• Wikipedia

attribute

This is an abbreviation for concept model attribute.

concept model attribute

A characteristic of the meaning of a concept or the nature of a refinement.

Notes

• An attribute is assigned a value (attribute value pair) when used in the definition of a concept or in a postcoordinated expression.

• The attributes that can be used in definitions or refinements are represented by a concepts that are subtypes of the concept 410662002 | Concept model attribute (attribute)| .

• The SNOMED CT concept model specifies:

  • The concept model domains which each specific attribute can be applied; and

  • The concept model range of values that can be applied to each specific attribute.

• The attribute

  • is one of the attributes that can be applied to concepts in the domain; and

  • its range includes and its subtypes.

• Attribute

• Role

attribute relationship

A relationship between two concepts in which one concept specifies the value of a defining characteristic of the other concept.

Notes

• In the relationships file an attribute relationship is represented by three concept identifiers:

  • SourceId represents the concept defined by the attribute relationship.

  • TypeId represents the attribute, which has a value that is a subtype of 410662002 | Concept model attribute| .

  • DestinationId represents the value applied to that attribute.

• Concepts are defined by a combination of attribute relationships and subtype relationships.

• The table below shows an example of three attribute relationships as it appears in the three significant columns of the relationships file:

clinical situation

This is a synonym for situation with explicit context.

situation with explicit context

A concept that specifically defines the context of a clinical finding or procedure.

Notes

• A situation with explicit context is defined as a subtype of the situation to which it applies with an attribute associating it with the relevant clinical finding or procedure.

Example

• Family history of diabetes mellitus is a situation with explicit context concept. It defines the context as family history by indicating that the 408732007 | Subject relationship context| is a 303071001 | Family member| .

• In contrast, diabetes mellitus itself is not a situation with explicit context. It can be used in many different situations including family history , past medical history or current diagnosis.

• Clinical situation

• Context

• Explicit context

concept model attribute

A characteristic of the meaning of a concept or the nature of a refinement.

Notes

• An attribute is assigned a value (attribute value pair) when used in the definition of a concept or in a postcoordinated expression.

• The attributes that can be used in definitions or refinements are represented by a concepts that are subtypes of the concept 410662002 | Concept model attribute (attribute)| .

• The SNOMED CT concept model specifies:

  • The concept model domains which each specific attribute can be applied; and

  • The concept model range of values that can be applied to each specific attribute.

• The attribute

  • is one of the attributes that can be applied to concepts in the domain; and

  • its range includes and its subtypes.

• Attribute

• Role

browser

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT browser.

SNOMED CT browser

A software application that provides a user interface through which to explore SNOMED CT content.

Note

• A typical SNOMED CT browser can locate concepts and descriptions by identifiers and by searching the text of description terms.

• Various views of located concepts may be displayed including the set of related descriptions, the hierarchical relationships and other defining relationships.

Alternatives

• Browser

• Terminology browser

author

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT author.

SNOMED CT author

A person responsible for creating or editing SNOMED CT concepts, concept definitions, and descriptions.

Alternatives

• Author

• Editor

• Modeler

• SNOMED CT editor

• SNOMED CT modeler

A web resource that assists organizations with communication and collaboration.

Notes

• SNOMED International collaborative spaces powered by Confluence:

  • Support communication within the organization and with its Members, Affiliates, and Advisory Groups.

  • Enable maintenance and publication of the SNOMED CT Document Library containing specifications, guides and other documents related to SNOMED CT.

attribute name

The concept that represents the attribute type in a defining relationship or postcoordinated expression.

Notes

• An attribute name with an attribute value is referred to as an attribute value pair.

• An attribute value pair can represent a defining characteristic of a concept or an expression refinement.

• In the relationship file , the attribute name is represented by the relationship.typeId and the attribute value by the relationship.destinationId._ _

• Theconcepts that can be used to name attributes are:

1. • subtypes of

• Relationship type

attribute in group cardinality

The number of times that a specific attribute is included in the same attribute group.

Notes

• This term may sometimes be used as an informal abbreviation for attribute in group cardinality constraint which is defined as follows:

  • A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same attribute group.

• Attribute in group cardinality is not the same as attribute cardinality or attribute group cardinality.

• Cardinality in group

context

The circumstances that form the setting in which a concept can be appropriately interpreted.

Notes

• Clear recording and appropriate interpretation of context is essential for safe use and accurate analysis of electronic health records.

• The context in which a concept is used can be represented in various ways. Some of the possible representation are shown in the examples section below.

• Appropriate interpretation of different representations of context can be facilitated by terminology binding techniques that resolve multiple models of use into a common model of meaning.

• A disease such as "asthma" might be referred to in various contexts.

  • A current presenting problem needing treatment

  • A past history recorded during assessment for treatment of another condition

  • A family history recorded routinely during a consultation

: { = }

Family History Record Section )

Confluence

This is the system that currently provides the SNOMED International collaborative space.

collaborative space

A web resource that assists organizations with communication and collaboration.

Notes

• SNOMED International collaborative spaces powered by Confluence:

  • Support communication within the organization and with its Members, Affiliates, and Advisory Groups.

  • Enable maintenance and publication of the SNOMED CT Document Library containing specifications, guides and other documents related to SNOMED CT.

This is a synonym for attribute cardinality constraint.

A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same concept definition or expression.

• Constraints on attribute cardinality apply only to non-redundant attributes. A redundant attribute is an attribute with a value that is subsumed by another attribute in the same concept definition or expression.

• Cardinality constraints are represented by square brackets containing a minimum value value represented as an integer, optionally followed by two dots and a maximum value represented as an integer or as an asterisk *****.

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT concept.

A clinical idea to which a unique concept identifier has been assigned.

• SNOMED CT concepts are distributed in the concept file.

• Concepts are associated with descriptions that contain human-readable terms describing the concept.

• Concepts

A set of SNOMED CT concept identifiers used to represent values for a property of a SNOMED CT component or reference set member.

• Concept enumeration serves the same purpose as more general approaches to providing enumerated lists of values (i.e. assigning a number to a value). However, the use of SNOMED CT concept identifier allows access to the human readable meaning of each enumeration using descriptions in the same way for other concepts.

• The SNOMED CT concepts used to represent concept enumerations are usually subtype children (or descendants) of concepts in the SNOMED CT metadata hierarchy. Each possible value is represented by a single child concept. This allows updates to the permitted values to be tracked using the component history mechanism.

This is an abbreviation for alpha release package.

A SNOMED CT release package made available only for initial review and testing by implementers and other stakeholders.

• An alpha release package must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

• An alpha release is used to test the format and content of the SNOMED CT release. Feedback is elicited and changes are made prior to publication of the beta release.

The last digit of a SNOMED CT Identifier, which is used to validate the identifier.

• Applications can use the check-digit to identify SNOMED CT codes that have been entered or communicated incorrectly.

• The check-digit is calculated using the Verhoeff algorithm.

A rule that limits the attributes, values, and associations that may be applied to a particular component.

Examples

• A modeling constraint may limit the permissible defining relationships applied to a particular type of concept.

• An instance data constraint may limit the permissible refinements that may be applied to a particular concept.

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clinical information system

A computer-based system that collects, stores, manipulates, and supplies clinical information to support the delivery of healthcare services to individual people and populations.

Alternatives

• CIS

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active component

A SNOMED CT component that is intended for use.

Notes

• Release files contain active and inactive components to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A component is active when the most recent row with the relevant component.id in the full release file has the value component.active =1 (one). The most recent row for a component is determined based on the component.effectiveTime value.

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context wrapper

The part of the SNOMED CT expression specifying the context of the focus concept.

Examples

• Family history of asthma can be represented by an expression in which the 195967001 | Asthma| is nested within a context wrapper indicating family history.

281666001 |Family history of disorder (situation)| : ⬅︎ Context wrapper { 246090004 |Associated finding| = 195967001 |asthma| ⬅︎ Focus concept }

• Addition information can be added in the context wrapper to specify the family member affected by asthma.

281666001 |Family history of disorder (situation)| : ⬅︎ Context wrapper { = , ⬅︎ ... = ⬅︎ Focus concept }

CTUF expression

This is a synonym for close to user form expression.

close to user form expression

The faithful representation of the information as it was entered, and the primary stored and communicated view of clinical information encoded using SNOMED CT.

Notes

• The close to user form expressio n includes refinements applied by an application based on selections made in an entry form as well as those made explicitly

• The close to user form expression does not include any additional relationships that are added based on classifier rules to make the expression complete or to normalize it

Alternatives

• CTUF expression

classifier

This is an abbreviation for description logic classifier.

description logic classifier

A software tool that applies the rules of description logic to a set of axioms to infer additional relationships between concepts.

Notes

• SNOMED CT concept definitions are processed by a description logic classifier to generate inferred subtype hierarchies.

• SNOMED CT expressions can also be processed by a description logic classifier to make inferences that enable more complete and precise selective retrieval to support analytics.

Alternatives

• Classifier

axiom

A true statement that serves as a premise or starting point for further reasoning.

Notes

• The axioms that specify SNOMED CT concept definition release files as SNOMED CT relationships or as OWL axioms that conform to the OWL Functional Syntax.

Change Notices

• Since July 2019 all axioms in the stated view of concept definitions have been represented as OWL axioms. Before July 2018, the stated view was represented using relationships and during a transitional period ending in July 2019 some axioms in stated view were represented using the OWL functional syntax.

• The inferred view __ of concept definitions continues to be represented using relationships.

• OWL axiom

CEN TC251

A technical committee of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) with a focus on Health Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Notes

• The full name of this committee is CEN/Technical Committee 251 - Health informatics.

• The goal of CEN TC251 is to achieve compatibility and interoperability between independent systems and to enable modularity in Electronic Health Record systems.

Related Links

• CEN/TC 251 - Health informatics

CF expression

This is a synonym for classifiable form expression.

classifiable form expression

A syntactically valid and concept model compliant representation of the close-to-user form expression.

Notes

• The classifiable form expression serves as the input to the classifier, enabling compositional expressions to be classified with SNOMED CT content

• In the classifiable form expression , ungrouped attributes and role groups have been validated and appropriately applied to the definition of the focus concept

Alternatives

• CF expression

children

This is an abbreviated plural for subtype child.

subtype child

A concept that has a direct | is a| subtyperelationship to a specified concept.

Notes

• See also subtype and subtype descendant.

Example

• The figure below shows an example hierarchy in which concept C has two subtype children ,F and G.

Alternatives

• Child

• Children

• Subtype children

CTS2

This is an abbreviation for Common Terminology Services 2.

Common Terminology Services 2

An application programming interface (API) specification of the basic functional requirements used to query and access terminological content.

Notes

• CTS2 * Is an abbreviation for Common Terminology Services 2. * Is used by healthcare software implementers. * Defines the functional requirements of a set of service interfaces to allow the representation, access, and maintenance of terminology content either locally, or across a federation of terminology services nodes._ _ * Is specified as an API, rather than a set of data structures. This enables a wide range of terminological content to be integrated within a common framework, without the need for significant migration or revision. * Was developed from the original HL7 CTS specification and is now a joint initiative between HL7 and the Object Management Group (OMG).

Alternatives

• CTS2

• HL7 CTS2

concept equivalence

This is a synonym for semantic equivalence.

semantic equivalence

The relationship between two classes that have the same logical meaning.

Notes

• The equivalent classes may be represented in different ways for example as SNOMED CT concept definitions, SNOMED CT expressions, or axioms expressed using a syntax such as OWL Functional Syntax.

• Semantic equivalence is represented by the Ξ symbol or by a sequence of three equals signs === .

Example

• The expression below asserts that the concept has semantic equivalence with with method applied to the direct site .

=== : { = , = }

• Concept equivalence

• Equivalence

cross mapping

This may sometimes be used to refer to mapping.

mapping

The process of converting data from one code system, classification, or terminology to another code system, classification, or terminology.

Notes

• The mapping process includes the preparation and maintenance of resources used for converting data.

• SNOMED CT mapping resources are distributed as mapping reference sets.

Alternatives

• Cross mapping

candidate baseline

Superseded by - Beta release package.

Beta release package

A SNOMED CT release package made available for review and testing only.

Notes

• Implementers and other stakeholders review and test the beta release.

• The beta release package is made available prior to the production release. It must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

• The beta release status indicates it is expected to subsequently be confirmed as a production release. If there is significant issue in format or content, it may be withdrawn, or replaced with an updated beta release package. Whether or not it becomes a production release is decided shortly before the due date for the next release. If a beta release is subsequently confirmed as a production release, all updates are fully version-tracked from the date of the beta release.

• Beta releases were formerly known as candidate baseline releases.

• Beta package

• Beta release

A set of concepts which the concept model permits to be defined or refined, using a particular set of attributes and ranges.

• A domain to which an attribute can be applied typically includes concepts in one or more branches of the subtype hierarchy.

• Section Procedure Attributes Summary of the SNOMED CT Editorial Guide defines the domain , attributes and ranges for | Procedure| .

• The domain

A serialized representation of a SNOMED CT expression produced by applying a set of rules that ensure a single unique representation for any expression.

• Expressions that contain exactly the same concept identifiers and refinements, may differ from one another in the following ways:

  • Inclusion of whitespace between elements

  • Inclusion of specific terms associated with identified concepts.

This is a synonym for SNOMED CT core file.

A distribution file used to represent the main SNOMED CT components (concepts, descriptions and relationships).

• Previously, the term core was also used to refer to the content of the SNOMED CT International Release, but this usage is deprecated.

• The agreement contains a specific legal definition of the term "SNOMED CT Core", which includes all content controlled, maintained and distributed by SNOMED International.

This is an abbreviation for NHS Clinical Terms Version 3.

A source terminology used to develop SNOMED CT.

• SNOMED RT was also used with NHS Clinical Terms Version 3 to develop SNOMED CT .

• NHS Clinical Terms Version 3 is UK Crown Copyright, distributed by the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS), and is integrated into SNOMED CT.

A computer system or software application designed to assist clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

Notes

• Typically a clinical decision support system responds to triggers, such as specific signs or symptoms, diagnoses, laboratory test results, medication selections, or complex combinations of such triggers. The system then provides information or recommendations relevant to the specific patient.

• CDSS

This is an abbreviation for clinical decision support system.

A computer system or software application designed to assist clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

Notes

• Typically a clinical decision support system responds to triggers, such as specific signs or symptoms, diagnoses, laboratory test results, medication selections, or complex combinations of such triggers. The system then provides information or recommendations relevant to the specific patient.

• CDSS

A representation of a SNOMED CT component at a particular point in time.

• In SNOMED CT release files each component version is represented as a single row with a unique combination of component.id and component.effectivetime.

• The component.id uniquely identifies the component and is shared by other versions of that component.

• The component.effectiveTime

An application programming interface (API) specification of the basic functional requirements used to query and access terminological content.

• CTS2 * Is an abbreviation for Common Terminology Services 2. * Is used by healthcare software implementers. * Defines the functional requirements of a set of service interfaces to allow the representation, access, and maintenance of terminology content either locally, or across a federation of terminology services nodes._ _ * Is specified as an API, rather than a set of data structures. This enables a wide range of terminological content to be integrated within a common framework, without the need for significant migration or revision. * Was developed from the original and is now a joint initiative between HL7 and the .

• CTS2

This is an abbreviation for subtype child.

A concept that has a direct subtyperelationship to a specified concept.

• See also subtype and subtype descendant.

• The figure below shows an example hierarchy in which concept C has two subtype children ,F and G.

Superseded by - Production release package.

A final, formally endorsed SNOMED CT release package intended for live use in appropriately licensed operational systems.

• A production release package represents the authoritative release of the product. Implementers can use it in operational clinical systems.

• The production release status indicates that the releasing party (SNOMED International or the owner of the extension) commits to maintain the release history. Thus the historical audit trail is maintained through the product's lifetime.

An operator used to assert that two (or more) parts of a concept definition or expression constraint must both be true.

• Conjunction can be represented by theAND operator. A conjunction of A with B , means that both A AND B must be true.

• Conjunction gives the same result as an intersection**** between the set of concepts or expressions for which A is true and the set of concepts or expressions

Provide Feedback

CIS

This is an abbreviation for clinical information system.

clinical information system

A computer-based system that collects, stores, manipulates, and supplies clinical information to support the delivery of healthcare services to individual people and populations.

Alternatives

• CIS

Provide Feedback

The set of elements that are not in a specified set.

Notes

• In set theory, the complement of set ** A** refers to all elements not in set ** A**.

• In SNOMED CT, the complement of a _subset _of concepts consists of all concepts that are not in that subset.

Example

• The following expression constraint language defines the set of concepts that are subtypes of that are also part of the complement of the . The "MINUS" instruction excludes members of the reference set, so only concepts that are part of the complement of that set are included.

< MINUS ^

Related Links

• Wikipedia

attribute group

An association between a set of attribute value pairs that causes them to be considered together within a concept definition or postcoordinated expression.

Notes

• When an attribute group is represented as a group of defining relationships it is usually referred to as a relationship group.

Example

• | Cholecystectomy with exploration of common duct| has two different attribute groups:

  • is grouped with

  • is grouped with

• If these attributes were not grouped, this procedure would incorrectly classified as a subtype of .

• Relationship group

• Role group

cardinality in group constraint

This is a synonym for attribute in group cardinality constraint.

attribute in group cardinality constraint

A constraint on the number of times that a specific attribute may be included in the same attribute group.

Notes

• Constraints on attribute in group cardinality apply only to non-redundant attributes. A redundant attribute is an attribute with a value that is subsumed by another attribute in the same group.

• Cardinality constraints are represented by square brackets containing a minimum value value represented as an integer, optionally followed by two dots and a maximum value represented as an integer or as an asterisk *****.

  • If the maximum is omitted then the maximum cardinality is the same as the minimum cardinality.

  • If the maximum is an asterisk ***** the maximum cardinality is unlimited.

• Attribute in group cardinality is NOT the same as attribute group cardinality constraint.

Attribute group cardinality constraint is defined as:

__

• The following expression constraint restricts cardinality in-group and would require a clinical finding whose definition has no more than one finding site in each group. However, it permits multiple groups to exist as there are cardinality constraints on the group.

< : {[0..1] = < }

• In contrast, the following expression constraint is satisfied by any clinical finding whose definition has two or more non-redundant finding sites, irrespective of the attribute group in which they are contained.

< : [2..*] = <

• A clinical finding could satisfy both the above constraints by have two or more groups each of which contains one finding site.

C-NPU

A coded terminology used in clinical laboratory sciences.

Notes

• C-NPU is maintained by the International Federation of Clinical Chemists (IFCC) in collaboration with the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).

Alternatives

• IFCC-IUPAC

• Nomenclature, Properties and Units

• NPU

authoring

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT authoring.

SNOMED CT authoring

The process of creating or editing SNOMED CT concepts, concept definitions and descriptions.

Alternatives

• Authoring

• Modeling

• SNOMED CT modeling

close to user form expression

The faithful representation of the information as it was entered, and the primary stored and communicated view of clinical information encoded using SNOMED CT.

Notes

• The close to user form expressio n includes refinements applied by an application based on selections made in an entry form as well as those made explicitly

• The close to user form expression does not include any additional relationships that are added based on classifier rules to make the expression complete or to normalize it

Alternatives

• CTUF expression

compositional grammar

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT compositional grammar.

SNOMED CT compositional grammar

The set of rules that govern the way in which SNOMED CT expressions are represented as a plain text string.

Alternatives

• Compositional grammar

• SCG

Related Links

• Specification

  • Compositional Grammar Specification and Guide

attribute hierarchy

A hierarchy in which a set of concept model attributes are linked to a more general attribute.

Notes

• Attribute hierarchies are represented in release files:

  • as subtype relationships in the relationship file.

  • as OWL SubObjectPropertyOf() axioms in the OWL Expression Reference Set file.

Examples

• • • Attribute hierarchy represented by three OWL expressions [code] SubObjectPropertyOf(:733930001 :774081006) SubObjectPropertyOf(:733931002 :774081006) SubObjectPropertyOf(:733932009 :774081006) [/code]

This is an abbreviation for clinical decision support.

A service that assists clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

Notes

• A clinical decision support system is a computer system or software application designed to assist clinicians, caregivers, or patients in healthcare and/or treatment decisions.

• CDS

concept definition

This is an abbreviation for SNOMED CT concept definition.

SNOMED CT concept definition

A set of one or more axioms that partially or sufficiently specify the meaning of a SNOMED CT concept.

Notes

• Concept definitions are represented in two ways in SNOMED CT release files: * As a stated view represented by axioms that conform to the OWL Functional Syntax distributed in the OWL Expression Reference Set file. * As an inferred view represented by defining relationships that are distributed in the relationship file. The inferred view is generated by applying description logic classification to the stated view.

• Concept definitions include two distinct elements

  • Axioms that assert that a concept is a subtype of one or more other concepts. In the inferred view these are represented as subtype relationships.

  • Axioms that assert characteristics of a concept that distinguish it from its supertypes. In the inferred view these are represented as attribute relationships.

• Prior to July 2018 the stated view of concept definitions were represented by relationships in the Stated Relationships file. During a transitional period between July 2018 and July 2019 the OWL reference sets were introduced. Since the end of that transitional period in July 2019, the stated relationship file is no longer maintained or distributed. More information on the earlier representation of the stated view is provided in a historical note on Representation of the Logical Model - Before July 2018.

• Concept definition

This is an abbreviation for European Committee for Standardization.

A standards organization whose mission is to foster the economy of the European Union in global trading, the welfare of European citizens, and the environment.

• The European Committee for Standardization is a major provider of European standards and technical specifications.

• CEN

concept model range

A set of values that the concept model permits to be applied to a specific attribute.

Notes

• The range of permitted values that can be applied to an attribute is formally specified using the expression constraint language.

• The range is typically limited to concepts that are subtypes of one concept. However, in some cases a range may be specified to include subtypes of several concepts or members of a specified reference set.

Example

• The concept model range for the attribute is limited the concept and its subtypes. This is specified by the following constraint:

<<

• Range

A reference set member that is intended for use.

• Release files contain active and inactive reference set members to provide a historical record of the terminology at different points in time.

• A reference set member is active when the most recent row with the relevant id in the full release file has the value active =1 (one). The most recent row for a reference set member is determined based on the effectiveTime value.

alpha release

This is an abbreviation for alpha release package.

alpha release package

A SNOMED CT release package made available only for initial review and testing by implementers and other stakeholders.

Notes

• An alpha release package must not be used in production clinical systems or in clinical settings. This includes Affiliate Licensees or any third parties, except those who have formally committed to test it.

• An alpha release is used to test the format and content of the SNOMED CT release. Feedback is elicited and changes are made prior to publication of the beta release.

• Alpha releases were formerly known as a technology preview releases.

• Alpha package

• Alpha release

The actual or permitted number of elements in a set or other grouping.

• Modeling rules include constraints on the minimum and maximum cardinality of particular attributes or associations between classes.

• A cardinality of [1..5] means that all clinical meanings that satisfy the given expression constraint must have at least one and at most five attributes, that match the given attribute criteria.