Formal classification of medical concept descriptions: Graph-oriented operators

A crucial component of a medical concept representation system is the class ifier. It requires features that are not sufficiently supported by current logic based formalisms like description logics and conceptual graphs. Those features are, for instance, the representation of partitive and spatial re lations and their impact on subsumption. This paper introduces graph orient ed classification operators for a concept representation language with norm al forms. Emphasis is on the separation of generic and partitive relations and on the mutual interdependence of subsumption and part-whole. For that p urpose operators are given for formal subsumption, formal part-whole, subsu mptive part-whole and part-sensitive subsumption. These operators are based on the formal structure of concept descriptions and on explicitly introduc ed generic and partitive relationships between their constituents.