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. 1998 Sep-Oct;5(5):421-31.
doi: 10.1136/jamia.1998.0050421.

Representing thoughts, words, and things in the UMLS

K E Campbell  1 , D E Oliver, K A Spackman, E H Shortliffe
Affiliations

Representing thoughts, words, and things in the UMLS

K E Campbell et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1998 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

The authors describe a framework, based on the Ogden-Richards semiotic triangle, for understanding the relationship between the Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) and the source terminologies from which the UMLS derives its content. They pay particular attention to UMLS's Concept Unique Identifier (CUI) and the sense of "meaning" it represents as contrasted with the sense of "meaning" represented by the source terminologies. The CUI takes on emergent meaning through linkage to terms in different terminology systems. In some cases, a CUI's emergent meaning can differ significantly from the original sources' intended meanings of terms linked by that CUI. Identification of these different senses of meaning within the UMLS is consistent with historical themes of semantic interpretation of language. Examination of the UMLS within such a historical framework makes it possible to better understand the strengths and limitations of the UMLS approach for integrating disparate terminologic systems and to provide a model, or theoretic foundation, for evaluating the UMLS as a Possible World--that is, as a mathematical formalism that represents propositions about some perspective or interpretation of the physical world.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The Ogden and Richards semiotic triangle, from the original 1923 illustration.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Ogden and Richards semiotic triangle applied to the notions of three expressions that all refer to the same physical object but generate different intensional thoughts. Notice that there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the thoughts, words, and things represented by the three corners of the meaning triangle.
Figure 3
Figure 3
A term from the CRISP Thesaurus that is part of the set of terms designated by the UMLS CUI C0004057 named “Aspirin,” and relationships from the CRISP Thesaurus that classify that term. See ▶ for a complete list of phrases associated with CUI C0004057.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Terms from SNOMED that are part of the set of terms designated by the UMLS CUI C0004057 named “Aspirin,” and relationships from SNOMED that classify those terms. See ▶ for a complete list of phrases associated with CUI C0004057.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Integration of symbols representing aspirin, intensional meanings of aspirin, and extensional referents in two of the UMLS sources. Compare with ▶.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Humphreys BL, Lindberg DAB. The UMLS Project: making the conceptual connection between users and the information they need. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1993;81(92): 170-7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Campbell KE, Oliver DE, Shortliffe EH. The Unified Medical Language System: toward a collaborative approach for solving terminologic problems. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 1998;5(1): 12-6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ogden CK, Richards IA. The Meaning of Meaning. 8th ed. Orlando, Fla.: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. First edition published 1923.
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    1. Witt C. Substance and Essence in Aristotle: An Interpretation of Metaphysics VII-IX. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989.

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