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Description

SNOMED CT Concept

Also called as root concept.

Body structure

Normal (e.g. Entire femur) or abnormal (e.g. Vascular polyp) body structures. Anatomically abnormal body structures are found in the Morphologically altered structure sub-hierarchy.

Clinical finding

Outcomes of clinical observation, assessment, or judgment, as well as normal and abnormal (e.g. Pulse fast) states. Clinical states that are necessarily abnormal (e.g. Acute allergic reaction) are found in the Disease sub-hierarchy.

Environmental or geographic location

Different types of environments (e.g. Intensive care unit, Toxic environment, Cold zone) and locations such as countries, states, and regions (e.g. Burundi, Arizona, Island in the region of North America).

Event

Occurrences (e.g. Accident, Exposure to carbon dioxide, Air travel, Environmental event).

Procedures and interventions are excluded from this category.

Observable entity

Entities that can be measured or observed (e.g. Age at first symptom, Blood pressure, Body temperature).

Organism

Organisms that are relevant in human and veterinary medicine such as animals (e.g. Canis lupus familiaris), plants (e.g. Amaryllis), life-cycle forms (e.g. Bacterial spore), trophic life forms (e.g. Carnivore), chromista (e.g. Oomycota), and microorganisms (e.g. Fungus).

Pharmaceutical / biological product

Drug products (e.g. Oral form aspirin, Alcoholic disinfectant, Lavender oil).

This hierarchy has to be distinguished from the substance hierarchy, in which the chemical constituents used in pharmaceutical products are represented.

Physical force

Different kinds of physical influences that are connected to an injury. Examples: Detonation, Air and water pressure, Radiation, Mechanical stress

Physical object

Devices (e.g. Industrial machine), materials (e.g. Leather), instruments (e.g. Firearm), vehicles (e.g. Snowmobile), and other natural or man-made objects (e.g. Hospital bed, Silver jewelry).

Procedure

Activity in the healthcare sector such as administrative (e.g. Death certification, Formal complaint about GP), invasive (e.g. Removal of wart), diagnostic (e.g. Complete blood count), imaging (e.g. Radiography of shoulder), educational procedures (e.g. Diet education), as well as referrals (e.g. Referral by clinical oncologist)

Qualifier value

Qualifier value concepts are used as values for other SNOMED CT attributes.

For example, the values for specifying the laterality of an ulnar fracture (i.e. Left, Right) are contained here.

Record artifact

Documents that were created to provide information about healthcare-related events or states of affairs (e.g. Anesthesia record, Birth certificate).

Situation with explicit context

Concepts in this hierarchy specify the circumstances of a procedure, a finding, or a condition. They refer to procedures and conditions in the past (e.g. Injection given) or future (e.g. Awaiting radiotherapy), findings that can be ruled out (e.g. No cardiovascular symptom), or information about someone other than the patient (e.g. Family history of alcoholism).

SNOMED CT Model Component

Core metadata concepts (provides structural information for international releases), foundation metadata concepts (reference sets, reference set attributes), linkage concepts (attributes, link assertions), namespace concepts, module concepts (e.g. national extensions), etc.

Social context

Social aspects that may influence the health and treatment of a patient. Concepts refer to social status (e.g. Lower middle class economic status), ethnic group (e.g. Caucasian), religion (e.g. Anglican), lifestyle (e.g. Eating habit), family (e.g. Divorced parents), and occupation (e.g. Factory worker).

Special concept

Inactive concepts (e.g. outdated concept) as well as some navigational concepts.

Specimen

Samples or specimens that were acquired for examination or analysis. Examples: Blood sample, Genetic sample, Environmental swab, Specimen from bone marrow obtained by biopsy.

Staging and Scales

Concepts in this hierarchy refer to different instruments of testing and scaling: Assessment scales (e.g. Stanford Binet intelligence scale), classifications (e.g. Endometriosis classification of American Fertility Society), grading systems (e.g. Nottingham histologic grading system), symptom ratings (e.g. Chest pain rating), and tumor staging (e.g. Cancer staging).

Substance

Substances and chemical constituents that are used for pharmaceutical and biological products, as well as body, dietary, and diagnostic substances. Examples: Diclofenac, Melatonin, Urine protein, Swimming pool water.