Respiratory System

Respiratory tract

321667001 |Respiratory tract structure (body structure)|. In SNOMED CT, respiratory tract has the same meaning as the Nomina Anatomica term apparatus respiratorius, which includes the structures through which air passes from the nares to the alveoli. The oral cavity is not included. In common usage, respiratory system may have the same meaning as respiratory tract; but not in SNOMED CT. Respiratory system does not mean the global respiratory system that might include the CNS components of breathing. Pleura are part of the lower respiratory system, but not a part of the lower respiratory tract.

Upper aerodigestive tract

This phrase has several meanings. The SNOMED CT concepts 119253004 |Upper aerodigestive tract structure (body structure)| and 361922007 |Entire upper aerodigestive tract (body structure)| have the meaning based on the following reference: Cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract constitute approximately 4% of all malignancies. These include cancer of the lip, tongue, major salivary glands, gums and adjacent oral cavity tissues, floor of the mouth, tonsils, oropharynx, nasopharynx, hypopharynx and other oral regions, nasal cavity, accessory sinuses, middle ear, and larynx (Upper aerodigestive tract cancers, Cancer 1995 Jan 1;75 (1 Suppl): 147-53). This definition matches the tumors included in the CAP Cancer Checklist for upper aerodigestive tumors. The esophagus, or at least the cervical esophagus, may be included, but not in SNOMED CT.

Upper respiratory tract

58675001 |Upper respiratory tract structure (body structure)| includes the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx, oropharynx, and larynx

Lower respiratory tract

82094008 |Lower respiratory tract structure (body structure)| includes the tracheobronchial tree (from the trachea through the terminal bronchioles) and the lungs, including the alveolar respiratory tract (which extends from the respiratory bronchioles to the alveoli).

Lower respiratory system

400141005 |Lower respiratory system structure (body structure)| includes the lower respiratory tract and the pleura.

Interarytenoid fold or larynx

The interarytenoid fold forms part of the inlet of the larynx. The fold has two surfaces, one forming part of the wall of the supraglottic larynx, the other forming part of the wall of the hypopharynx (the food tube behind the larynx, leading to the esophagus). The 102295003 |Structure of hypopharyngeal aspect of interarytenoid fold (body structure)| may be considered part of the hypopharynx, the larynx, or both. A tumor of this site is categorized as a tumor of the hypopharynx, and not the larynx, but the 105585004 |Interarytenoid fold structure (body structure)| is considered part of the larynx.

SNOMED CT does not give a Part of relationship between the hypopharyngeal aspect of the interarytenoid fold and the interarytenoid fold. This emphasizes SNOMED CT modeling based on the relationship of anatomical entities and disorders and procedures and not simply by reading term names.

Nasal turbinates

SNOMED CT differentiates between the bone underlying the nasal turbinates and the actual turbinates:

Bones underlying the turbinates,

Turbinates, which include bone, overlying mucous membranes, and other tissue,

The 118648008 |Inferior nasal turbinate bone structure (body structure)| is a facial bone and skull bone. And, parts of the ethmoid bone form the middle, superior, and supreme nasal conchae. This means that the bones of the middle, superior, and supreme turbinates are not bone organs.

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