UMLS Source Vocabularies

• Widely varying purposes, structures, properties

  • Thesauri, e.g., MeSH
  • Statistical Classifications, e.g., ICD
  • Billing Codes, e.g., CPT
  • Clinical coding systems, e.g., SNOMED
  • Lists of controlled terms, e.g., COSTAR, HL7 value sets

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Where do our vocabularies come from?

Clinical record systems, coding systems, codes which aggregate clinical data for statistical or billing purposes, and, of course, the Medical Subject Headings.

MeSH is a widely recognized thesaurus developed and maintained by the NLM for the purpose of organizing medical knowledge and information.