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Synonyms

Many terms in the HPO have synonyms. Synonyms can help to find HPO terms on the website and caqn also be used by text-mining software to increase sensitivity of extracting HPO terms from medical texts. There are several different kinds of synonyms.

  • Exact: can be used interchangeably. One synonym can replace the other synonym. a. e.g. Focal myoclonic seizure and Partial myoclonic seizure

  • Broad: more general term that includes the feature of the primary term, but may include other features a. E.g. left ventricular hypertrophy (thickening of left ventricle) and cardiac hypertrophy (thickening of any cardiac muscle, including left ventricle)

  • Narrow: a more specific subtype of a general term a. E.g. congestive heart failure (general term describing inability of heart to pump effectively) and left-sided heart failure (specific type of failure to pump)

  • Related: Conceptually related but not exactly interchangeable. One synonym does not replace the other a. E.g. Myocardial infarction and Coronary artery disease (underlying condition that may lead to (but not necessarily) a myocardial infarction

  • Lay-person: used by general public. Often - exact synonyms and lay-person synonyms are the same, such as Myocardial infarction and heart attack or Hypertension and high blood pressure