SNOMED CT Glossary

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The SNOMED CT Glossary is used to provide consistent definitions for terms in used in SNOMED CT documentation, E-Learning presentations and related materials.

In addition to terms that have specific meanings in relation to  SNOMED CT, the glossary also includes more general words and phrases used in the healthcare, informatics and other related domains.

Version Notes 2019-03-12

  • Completion of a major review and update with many new entries and updated definitions.
  • New entries have been added to the glossary from the Editorial Guide as well as from other documentation.
  • The format for entries has been standardized so that it begins with a single sentence definition:
    • The definition 
      • starts by specifying a general class
      • continues by specifying differentia that distinguish that term from the general class
      • does not include the defined term (though the definition of a term consisting of more than one word may include a words from the term when specifying the general class)
  • The formal definition is followed by the following sections:
    1. Notes - that provide a less formal description or explanation of the defined term
    2. Examples - that illustrate the defined term
    3. Alternatives - other words or abbreviations that may sometimes be used in place of the defined term
    4. Related Links - links to other glossary entries and/or related documentation
    5. Disambiguation - where there are other potentially confusing uses of the same term (or a similar term).
    6. Change Notices - where changes to SNOMED CT design has resulted in changes to definitions notes are added here. These notes may be removed in future versions of the glossary as they are specific to the transitional period of the changes noted.

Version Notes 2017-12-21

  1. To align with glossary practice in formal standard such as those published by ISO and CEN, the glossary has been updated to use lowercase text for all terms, except where there is a specific reason to use upper case. Upper case characters continue to be used in product names, acronyms and terms that have a specific roles in the SNOMED CT Affiliate Licence Agreement and the Articles of Association. 

    As a result of this style change, the representation of the terms used in the glossary now matches expected usage of these terms in text. Therefore, if the glossary term appears in lower case, it should be used in lowercase. The only exceptions to this should be where the term is at the start of a sentence or in another situation (e.g. within a document or section title) where capitalization rules apply. During the first half of 2018 documents in the online SNOMED CT Document Library will be updated to follow this revised style convention.

Version Notes 2016-08-01

  1. The glossary was published in this new format in August 2016, to as part of a planned process of document migration. At the time of publication, the material in the glossary has been carried forward from the previous publication limited changes to fit the new format.
  2. Over the next few months the glossary will be reviewed and revised as other documents are migrated to the new platform.
  3. Due to the current migration process some links in the document may not reach the appropriate target documents. If a link does not work correctly, please refer to the SNOMED CT Document Library to locate the relevant document.

Comments and Additions

 The new format allows more frequent revisions and additions to keep the glossary up-to-date. It also enables you to provide feedback on existing glossary entries and to request additions to the glossary.

  • To submit suggested revisions of existing definitions, please use the feedback link at the bottom of the page containing the existing definition.
  • To propose additional terms and definitions that are required to understand other SNOMED CT documents and developments, please use the feedback link at the bottom of this page.
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