Table 1.

Some Desired Attributes for a Controlled Medical Terminology, as Represented in Cimino,⁷⁶ Chute et al.,⁷⁷ and the ISO's Technical Specifications for Terminologies^15,73,74

Terminology Attribute	Cimino76,78	Chute et al.77	ISO15,73,74
Statement of purpose, scope, and comprehensiveness			√
Complete coverage of domain-specific content	√	√	√
Use of concepts rather than terms, phrases, and words (concept orientation)	√		√
Concepts do not change with time, view, or use (concept consistency*)	√		√
Concepts must evolve with change in knowledge	√	√	√
Concepts identified through nonsense identifiers (context-free identifier)	√	√	√
Representation if concept context consistently from multiple hierarchies	√	√	√
Concepts have single explicit formal definitions	√	√	√
Support for multiple levels of concept detail	√	√	√
Methods, or absence of, to identify duplication, ambiguity, and synonymy	√	√	√
Synonyms uniquely identified and appropriately mapped to relevant concepts	√	√	√
Support for compositionality to create concepts at multiple levels of detail	√	√	√
Language independence		√
Integration with other terminologies		√	√
Mapping to administrative terminologies		√	√

^*Includes the concepts “multiple consistent views” and “concept permanence.”