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Article published In:
Terminology as a Societal Resource: Possibilities and Responsibilities in a Changing World
Edited by Nina Pilke, Niina Nissilä and Hans Landqvist
[Terminology 27:1] 2021
► pp. 10–34

Terminological cooperation in the biomedical field

| KU Leuven
This paper deals with collaborative terminological activities in the biomedical field. Efficient communication based on uniform language use is a prerequisite for safe and cost-efficient patient care. Terminological consistency and standardization are therefore central issues in healthcare with high societal relevance. The objectives of this contribution are (1) to show how actors from different disciplines and institutions are involved in the standardization of medical terminology and electronic terminology systems; (2) to describe how translation-oriented terminological principles affect the translation of the Systematic Nomenclature of Medicine – Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT). The challenges of this approach will be discussed and some suggestions for its further development will be made.
Keywords: clinical terminology, collaborative translation projects, concept systems, ontology, ontoterminology, SNOMED CT, standardization, theory of terminology
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Standardization in the biomedical field
    • 2.1Medical language and terminology standardization
    • 2.2Electronic medical communication and standardization
    • 2.3Semantic interoperability and cooperation with standardization organizations
  • 3.Conceptual networks in the biomedical field
    • 3.1Ontologies as representational frameworks
    • 3.2SNOMED CT
    • 3.3Formal concept definitions and natural language
    • 3.4SNOMED CT as applied terminology
  • 4.Translation of SNOMED CT: Methodology and challenges
    • 4.1Onomasiological approach
    • 4.2Collaborative translation and role distribution
    • 4.3Translation tools
    • 4.4Challenges of the translation approach
  • 5.Summary
  • Notes
  • References
  • Online sources
Published online: 5 July 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/term.00056.wer
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