Relation
Recommended best practice is to reference the resource by means of a string or number conforming to a formal identification system.
A reference to a related resource.
Description
An account of the content of the resource.
Description may include but is not limited to: an abstract, table of contents, reference to a graphical representation of content or a free-text account of the content.
term replaced by
Person:Alan Ruttenberg
Use on obsolete terms, relating the term to another term that can be used as a substitute
definition
PERSON:Daniel Schober
The official definition, explaining the meaning of a class or property. Shall be Aristotelian, formalized and normalized. Can be augmented with colloquial definitions.
expand expression to
A macro expansion tag applied to an object property (or possibly a data property) which can be used by a macro-expansion engine to generate more complex expressions from simpler ones
ObjectProperty: RO_0002104 Label: has plasma membrane part Annotations: IAO_0000424 "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some (http://purl.org/obo/owl/GO#GO_0005886 and http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?Y)"
editor note
An administrative note intended for its editor. It may not be included in the publication version of the ontology, so it should contain nothing necessary for end users to understand the ontology.
in branch
An annotation property indicating which module the terms belong to. This is currently experimental and not implemented yet.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the content of the resource.
Examples of a Contributor include a person, an organisation, or a service. Typically, the name of a Contributor should be used to indicate the entity.
has curation status
PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
PERSON:Bill Bug
PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition source
Discussion on obo-discuss mailing-list, see http://bit.ly/hgm99w
formal citation, e.g. identifier in external database to indicate / attribute source(s) for the definition. Free text indicate / attribute source(s) for the definition. EXAMPLE: Author Name, URI, MeSH Term C04, PUBMED ID, Wiki uri on 31.01.2007
Language
A language of the intellectual content of the resource.
Recommended best practice is to use RFC 3066 [RFC3066], which, in conjunction with ISO 639 [ISO639], defines two- and three-letter primary language tags with optional subtags. Examples include "en" or "eng" for English, "akk" for Akkadian, and "en-GB" for English used in the United Kingdom.
curator note
An administrative note of use for a curator but of no use for a user
Resource Type
The nature or genre of the content of the resource.
Type includes terms describing general categories, functions, genres, or aggregation levels for content. Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary (for example, the DCMI Type Vocabulary [DCMITYPE]). To describe the physical or digital manifestation of the resource, use the Format element.
antisymmetric property
Alan Ruttenberg
part_of antisymmetric property xsd:true
use boolean value xsd:true to indicate that the property is an antisymmetric property
definition editor
Name of editor entering the definition in the file. The definition editor is a point of contact for information regarding the term. The definition editor may be, but is not always, the author of the definition, which may have been worked upon by several people
OBO foundry unique label
The intended usage of that property is as follow: OBO foundry unique labels are automatically generated based on regular expressions provided by each ontology, so that SO could specify unique label = 'sequence ' + [label], etc. , MA could specify 'mouse + [label]' etc. Upon importing terms, ontology developers can choose to use the 'OBO foundry unique label' for an imported term or not. The same applies to tools .
An alternative name for a class or property which is unique across the OBO Foundry.
GROUP:OBO Foundry <http://obofoundry.org/>
PERSON:Bjoern Peters
PERSON:Chris Mungall
first order logic expression
has obsolescence reason
Relates an annotation property to an obsolescence reason. The values of obsolescence reasons come from a list of predefined terms, instances of the class obsolescence reason specification.
alternative term
An alternative name for a class or property which means the same thing as the preferred name (semantically equivalent)
expand assertion to
A macro expansion tag applied to an annotation property which can be expanded into a more detailed axiom.
Chris Mungall
ObjectProperty: RO??? Label: spatially disjoint from Annotations: expand_assertion_to "DisjointClasses: (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?X) (http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/BFO_0000051 some ?Y)"
Source
A reference to a resource from which the present resource is derived.
The present resource may be derived from the Source resource in whole or in part. Recommended best practice is to reference the resource by means of a string or number conforming to a formal identification system.
editor preferred term
The concise, meaningful, and human-friendly name for a class or property preferred by the ontology developers. (US-English)
example of usage
A phrase describing how a class name should be used. May also include other kinds of examples that facilitate immediate understanding of a class semantics, such as widely known prototypical subclasses or instances of the class. Although essential for high level terms, examples for low level terms (e.g., Affymetrix HU133 array) are not
example
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the content of the resource.
Examples of a Creator include a person, an organisation, or a service. Typically, the name of a Creator should be used to indicate the entity.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Examples of a Publisher include a person, an organisation, or a service. Typically, the name of a Publisher should be used to indicate the entity.
Subject and Keywords
The topic of the content of the resource.
Typically, a Subject will be expressed as keywords, key phrases or classification codes that describe a topic of the resource. Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary or formal classification scheme.
Coverage
Coverage will typically include spatial location (a place name or geographic coordinates), temporal period (a period label, date, or date range) or jurisdiction (such as a named administrative entity). Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary (for example, the Thesaurus of Geographic Names [TGN]) and that, where appropriate, named places or time periods be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date ranges.
The extent or scope of the content of the resource.
In OWL 2 add AnnotationPropertyRange('is denotator type' 'denotator type')
relates an class defined in an ontology, to the type of it's denotator
is denotator type
imported from
For external terms/classes, the ontology from which the term was imported
Resource Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.
Recommended best practice is to identify the resource by means of a string or number conforming to a formal identification system. Example formal identification systems include the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) (including the Uniform Resource Locator (URL)), the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and the International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
Date
A date associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource.
Typically, Date will be associated with the creation or availability of the resource. Recommended best practice for encoding the date value is defined in a profile of ISO 8601 [W3CDTF] and follows the YYYY-MM-DD format.
Format
The physical or digital manifestation of the resource.
Typically, Format may include the media-type or dimensions of the resource. Format may be used to determine the software, hardware or other equipment needed to display or operate the resource. Examples of dimensions include size and duration. Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary (for example, the list of Internet Media Types [MIME] defining computer media formats).
Title
Typically, a Title will be a name by which the resource is formally known.
A name given to the resource.
Rights Management
Typically, a Rights element will contain a rights management statement for the resource, or reference a service providing such information. Rights information often encompasses Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Copyright, and various Property Rights. If the Rights element is absent, no assumptions can be made about the status of these and other rights with respect to the resource.
Information about rights held in and over the resource.
data item
OBO:imported "http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/iao.owl"
a data item is an information content entity that is intended to be a truthful statement about something (modulo, e.g., measurement precision or other systematic errors) and is constructed/acquired by a method which reliably tends to produce (approximately) truthful statements.
information content entity
an information content entity is an entity that is generically dependent on some artifact and stands in relation of aboutness to some entity
curation status specification
Better to represent curation as a process with parts and then relate labels to that process (in IAO meeting)
The curation status of the term. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
data about an ontology part
data about an ontology part is a data item about a part of an ontology, for example a term
obsolescence reason specification
PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
PERSON: Melanie Courtot
The creation of this class has been inspired in part by Werner Ceusters' paper, Applying evolutionary terminology auditing to the Gene Ontology.
The reason for which a term has been deprecated. The allowed values come from an enumerated list of predefined terms. See the specification of these instances for more detailed definitions of each enumerated value.
A denotator type indicates how a term should be interpreted from an ontological perspective.
The Basic Formal Ontology ontology makes a distinction between Universals and defined classes, where the formal are "natural kinds" and the latter arbitrary collections of entities.
A representation that is either the output of a clinical history taking or a physical examination or an image finding, or some combination thereof.
A series of statements representing health-relevant qualities of a patient and of a patient's family.
A representation of the clinically significant bodily components and/or bodily processes of a human being that is inferred from the totality of relevant clinical findings.
A representation of an image that supports an inference to an assertion about some quality of a patient.
A representation of a quality of a specimen that is the output of a laboratory test and that can support an inference to an assertion about some quality of the patient.
A representation of a quality of a patient that is (1) recorded by a clinician because the quality is hypothesized to be of clinical significance and (2) refers to qualities obtaining in the patient prior to their becoming detectable in a clinical history taking or physical examination.
A quality of a patient that is observed by the patient or a processual entity experienced by the patient, either of which is hypothesized by the patient to be a realization of a disease.
A quality of a patient that is (a) a deviation from clinical normality that exists in virtue of the realization of a disease and (b) is observable.
A (combination of) quality(ies) of an organism determined by the interaction of its genetic make-up and environment that differentiates specific instances of a species from other instances of the same species.
A quality of a patient, a material entity that is part of a patient, or a processual entity that a patient participates in, any one of which is observed in a physical examination and is deemed by the clinician to be of clinical significance.
A manifestation of a disease that is detectable in a clinical history taking or physical examination.
A manifestation of a disease that exists prior to the time at which it would be detected in a clinical history taking or physical examination, if the patient were to present to a clinician. A realization of a disease that exists prior to its becoming detectable in a clinical history taking or physical examination.
A clinically abnormal phenotype.
A clinically abnormal phenotype that is characteristic of a single disease.
A physical sign in which a non-zero value is standardly considered to be an indication that the organism is alive.
A disposition in an organism that constitutes an increased risk of the organism's subsequently developing the disease X.
A disposition (i) to undergo pathological processes that (ii) exists in an organism because of one or more disorders in that organism.
genetic predisposition to disease of type X
A predisposition to disease of type X whose physical basis is a constitutional abnormality in an organism's genome. This abnormality is the physical basis for the increased risk of acquiring the disease X.
A disease whose physical basis is an acquired genetic disorder.
A disease whose physical basis is a constitutional genetic disorder.
A disease whose physical basis is an infectious disorder.
Homeostasis that is clinically abnormal for an organism of a given type and age in a given environment.
Homeostasis of a type that is not clinically abnormal.
A quality which is an spatial arrangement or distribution of a(n) independent continuant(s) across a Three Dimensional Region.
A configuration which deviates in some way from a canonical configuration for a particular organism.
A material entity which is clinically abnormal and part of an extended organism. Disorders are the physical basis of disease.
A disorder whose etiology involves (1) a modification to the patient's genomic DNA which leads to alterations in the normal expression pattern of the genome, but is (2) not a change in the nucleotide sequence.
A disorder whose etiology involves an abnormality in the nucleotide sequence of an organism's genome.
A disorder whose etiology includes the presence of a pathogenic organism within a host organism or an abnormal imbalance in the normal resident organismal flora.
A disorder consisting in the presence of a pathogenic organism within a host organism that occurs due to the disposition established by a prior infection with a pathogenic organism of a different kind.
A genetic disorder acquired by a single cell in an organism that leads to a population of cells within the organism bearing the disorder.
A genetic disorder inherited during conception that is part of all cells in the organism.
A fiat process part which involves the execution of a standardized protocol for measuring qualities of a patient.
An interview in which a clinician elicits a clinical history from a patient or from a third party who is reporting on behalf of the patient.
A measurement assay that has as input a patient-derived specimen, and as output a result that represents a quality of the specimen.
A sequence of acts of observing and measuring qualities of a patient performed by a clinician; measurements may occur with and without elicitation.
A process in an organism that leads to a subsequent disorder.
A bodily process that is clinically abnormal.
The totality of all processes through which a given disease instance is realized.
A disease course that (a) does not terminate in a return to normal homeostasis and (b) would, absent intervention, fall within abnormal homeostatic range.
A disease course that (a) does not terminate in a return to normal homeostasis and (b) would, absent intervention, involve an increasing deviation from homeostasis.
A disease course that terminates in a return to normal homeostasis.
The representation of a conclusion of a diagnostic process.
A value for a quality reported in a lab report and asserted by the testing lab or the kit manufacturer to be normal based on a statistical treatment of values from a reference population.
TODO: Define, relate to disorder, and place in the OGMS hierarchy.
An anatomical structure (FMA) is pathological whenever (1) it has come into being as a result of changes in some pre-existing canonical anatomical structure, (2) through processes other than the expression of the normal complement of genes of an organism of the given type, and (3) is predisposed to have health-related consequences for the organism in question manifested by symptoms and signs.
A pathological bodily process in which a canonical anatomical structure becomes a pathological anatomical structure.
A pathological bodily process in which matter is reorganized in such a way as to give rise to new pathological formations which take the place of entities existing earlier.
TODO: Define.
An aggregate of organisms of the same type.
A pattern of signs and symptoms that typically co-occur.
An object aggregate consisting of an organism and all material entities located within the organism, overlapping the organism, or occupying sites formed in part by the organism.
A communication from a patient about something they perceive as being abnormal about their body or life.
A structurally anomalous part of an organism acquired during fetal development and present at birth (but not necessarily hereditary) which is hypothesized to be harmful for the organism.
A processual entity whose completion is hypothesized (by a healthcare provider) to alleviate the signs and symptoms associated with a disorder
A processual entity during which a patient participating in a disease course gradually returns to participating in a canonical life course.
A processual entity which has as parts all the processes in which a given organism is participant.
A hypothesis about the course of a disease.
a disease course with a rapid onset but typical unfolding of signs and symptoms after this rapid onset.
A process which is a response by an organism's tissues that is generally identified by swelling or localized pain
A social process that has at least one human participant and that includes as parts the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of disease or injury--or the following of instructions of another human for treatment, diagnosis, or prevention--of a participant in the process
A temporally-connected health care process that has as participants an organization or person realizing the health care provider role and a person realizing the patient role. The health care provider role and patient are realized during the health care encounter
TODO
A part of an organism that has undergone a change in structural integrity and has a higher chance of dysfunction or causing dysfunction in another structure.
At the scale of organism (as opposed to the cellular scale or the population scale), an injury is typically the result of a catastrophic event. Consider the implications of making 'injury' a subtype of 'disorder'.
A planned process that has the objective to reduce the risk of acquiring one or more disorders.
Whether or not 'prophylaxis' and 'treatment' classes are disjoint is an open question.
An interpretive process that has as input a clinical picture of a given patient and as output an assertion (diagnostic statement) to the effect that the patient has a disease of such and such a type.
Definition: An entity [bfo:Entity] that exists in full at any time in which it exists at all, persists through time while maintaining its identity and has no temporal parts.
Examples: a heart, a person, the color of a tomato, the mass of a cloud, a symphony orchestra, the disposition of blood to coagulate, the lawn and atmosphere in front of our building
Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that is either dependent on one or other independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] bearers or inheres in or is borne by other entities.
Definition: A realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] that essentially causes a specific process or transformation in the object [snap:Object] in which it inheres, under specific circumstances and in conjunction with the laws of nature. A general formula for dispositions is: X (object [snap:Object] has the disposition D to (transform, initiate a process) R under conditions C.
Examples: the disposition of vegetables to decay when not refrigerated, the disposition of a vase to brake if dropped, the disposition of blood to coagulate, the disposition of a patient with a weakened immune system to contract disease, the disposition of metal to conduct electricity.
Definition: A material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] that is part of an object [snap:Object] but is not demarcated by any physical discontinuities.
Examples: upper and lower lobes of the left lung, the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the body, the east side of Saarbruecken, the lower right portion of a human torso
Definition: A realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] the manifestation of which is an essentially end-directed activity of a continuant [snap:Continuant] entity in virtue of that continuant [snap:Continuant] entity being a specific kind of entity in the kind or kinds of contexts that it is made for.
Examples: the function of a birth canal to enable transport, the function of the heart in the body: to pump blood, to receive de-oxygenated and oxygenated blood, etc., the function of reproduction in the transmission of genetic material, the digestive function of the stomach to nutriate the body, the function of a hammer to drive in nails, the function of a computer program to compute mathematical equations, the function of an automobile to provide transportation, the function of a judge in a court of law
Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that is dependent on one or other independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] bearers. For every instance of A requires some instance of (an independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] type) B but which instance of B serves can change from time to time.
Examples: a certain PDF file that exists in different and in several hard drives
Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that is a bearer of quality [snap:Quality] and realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] entities, in which other entities inhere and which itself cannot inhere in anything.
Examples: an organism, a heart, a leg, a person, a symphony orchestra, a chair, the bottom right portion of a human torso, the lawn and atmosphere in front of our building
Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] that is spatially extended whose identity is independent of that of other entities and can be maintained through time. Note: Material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] subsumes object [snap:Object], fiat object part [snap:FiatObjectPart], and object aggregate [snap:ObjectAggregate], which assume a three level theory of granularity, which is inadequate for some domains, such as biology.
Examples: collection of random bacteria, a chair, dorsal surface of the body
Definition: A material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] that is spatially extended, maximally self-connected and self-contained (the parts of a substance are not separated from each other by spatial gaps) and possesses an internal unity. The identity of substantial object [snap:Object] entities is independent of that of other entities and can be maintained through time.
Examples: an organism, a heart, a chair, a lung, an apple
Definition: A material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] that is a mereological sum of separate object [snap:Object] entities and possesses non-connected boundaries.
Examples: a heap of stones, a group of commuters on the subway, a collection of random bacteria, a flock of geese, the patients in a hospital
Comment: Boundaries are theoretically difficult entities to account for, however the intuitive notion of a physical boundary as a surface of some sort (whether inside or outside of a thing) will generally serve as a good guide for the use of this universal.
Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] that is a lower dimensional part of a spatial entity, normally a closed two-dimensional surface. Boundaries are those privileged parts of object [snap:Object] entities that exist at exactly the point where the object [snap:Object] is separated off from the rest of the existing entities in the world.
Examples: the surface of the skin, the surface of the earth, the surface of the interior of the stomach, the outer surface of a cell or cell wall
Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with one dimension.
Examples: the part of space that is a line stretching from one end of absolute space to the other, an edge of a cube-shaped part of space
Definition: A specifically dependent continuant [snap:SpecificallyDependentContinuant] that is exhibited if it inheres in an entity or entities at all (a categorical property).
Examples: the color of a tomato, the ambient temperature of air, the circumference of a waist, the shape of a nose, the mass of a piece of gold, the weight of a chimpanzee
Comment: If a realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] inheres in a continuant [snap:Continuant], this does not imply that it is actually realized.
Definition: A specifically dependent continuant [snap:SpecificallyDependentContinuant] that inheres in continuant [snap:Continuant] entities and are not exhibited in full at every time in which it inheres in an entity or group of entities. The exhibition or actualization of a realizable entity is a particular manifestation, functioning or process that occurs under certain circumstances.
Examples: the role of being a doctor, the function of the reproductive organs, the disposition of blood to coagulate, the disposition of metal to conduct electricity
Definition: A realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] the manifestation of which brings about some result or end that is not essential to a continuant [snap:Continuant] in virtue of the kind of thing that it is but that can be served or participated in by that kind of continuant [snap:Continuant] in some kinds of natural, social or institutional contexts.
Examples: the role of a person as a surgeon, the role of a chemical compound in an experiment, the role of a patient relative as defined by a hospital administrative form, the role of a woman as a legal mother in the context of system of laws, the role of a biological grandfather as legal guardian in the context of a system of laws, the role of ingested matter in digestion, the role of a student in a university
Comment: An instance of Site [snap:Site] is a mixture of independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] entities which act as surrounding environments for other independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] entities, most importantly for instances of object [snap:Object]. A site [snap:Site] is typically made of object [snap:Object] or fiat object part [snap:FiatObjectPart] entities and a surrounding medium in which is found an object [snap:Object] occupying the site [snap:Site]. Independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] entities may be associated with others (which, then, are site [snap:Site] entities) through a relation of "occupation". That relation is connected to, but distinct from, the relation of spatial location. Site [snap:Site] entities are not to be confused with spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities. In BFO, site [snap:Site] allows for a so-called relational view of space which is different from the view corresponding to the class spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] (see the comment on this class).
Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] consisting of a characteristic spatial shape in relation to some arrangement of other continuant [snap:Continuant] entities and of the medium which is enclosed in whole or in part by this characteristic spatial shape. Site [snap:Site] entities are entities that can be occupied by other continuant [snap:Continuant] entities.
Examples: a particular room in a particular hospital, Maria's nostril or her intestines for a variety of bacteria.
Comment: All instances of continuant [snap:Continuant] are spatial entities, that is, they enter in the relation of (spatial) location with spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities. As a particular case, the exact spatial location of a spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] is this region itself.
Comment: An instance of spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] is a part of space. All parts of space are spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities and only spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities are parts of space. Space is the entire extent of the spatial universe, a designated individual, which is thus itself a spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion].
Comment: Space and spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities are entities in their own rights which exist independently of any entities which can be located at them. This view of space is sometimes called "absolutist" or "the container view". In BFO, the class site [snap:Site] allows for a so-called relational view of space, that is to say, a view according to which spatiality is a matter of relative location between entities and not a matter of being tied to space. The bridge between these two views is secured through the fact that while instances of site [snap:Site] are not spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities, they are nevertheless spatial entities.
Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that is neither bearer of quality [snap:Quality] entities nor inheres in any other entities.
Examples: the sum total of all space in the universe, parts of the sum total of all space in the universe
Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that inheres in or is borne by other entities. Every instance of A requires some specific instance of B which must always be the same.
Examples: the mass of a cloud, the smell of mozzarella, the liquidity of blood, the color of a tomato, the disposition of fish to decay, the role of being a doctor, the function of the heart in the body: to pump blood, to receive de-oxygenated and oxygenated blood, etc.
Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with three dimensions.
Examples: a cube-shaped part of space, a sphere-shaped part of space
Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with two dimensions.
Examples: the surface of a cube-shaped part of space, the surface of a sphere-shaped part of space, the surface of a rectilinear planar figure-shaped part of space
Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with no dimensions.
Definition: A spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] that has temporal and spatial dimensions such that all points within the spatiotemporal region are mediately or immediately connected to all other points within the same spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion].
Examples: the spatial and temporal location of an individual organism's life, the spatial and temporal location of the development of a fetus
Definition: A temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] every point of which is mediately or immediately connected with every other point of which.
Examples: the 1970s years, the time from the beginning to the end of a heart attack, the time taken up by cellular meiosis
Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is part of a process but that does not have bona fide beginnings and endings corresponding to real discontinuities.
Examples: chewing during a meal, the middle part of a rainstorm, the worst part of a heart-attack, the most interesting part of Van Gogh's life
Definition: An entity [bfo:Entity] that has temporal parts and that happens, unfolds or develops through time. Sometimes also called perdurants.
Examples: the life of an organism, a surgical operation as processual context for a nosocomical infection, the spatiotemporal context occupied by a process of cellular meiosis, the most interesting part of Van Gogh's life, the spatiotemporal region occupied by the development of a cancer tumor
Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is a maximally connected spatiotemporal whole and has bona fide beginnings and endings corresponding to real discontinuities.
Examples: the life of an organism, the process of sleeping, the process of cell-division
Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is a mereological sum of process [span:Process] entities and possesses non-connected boundaries.
Examples: the beating of the hearts of each of seven individuals in the room, the playing of each of the members of an orchestra, a process of digestion and a process of thinking taken together
Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is the fiat or bona fide instantaneous temporal process boundary.
Examples: birth, death, the forming of a synapse, the onset of REM sleep, the detaching of a finger in an industrial accident, the final separation of two cells at the end of cell-division, the incision at the beginning of a surgery
Comment: An instance of a processual context [span:ProcessualContext] is a mixture of processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] which stand as surrounding environments for other processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] entities. The class processual context [span:ProcessualContext] is the analogous among occurrent [span:Occurrent] entities to the class site [snap:Site] among continuant [snap:Continuant] entities.
Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] consisting of a characteristic spatial shape inhering in some arrangement of other occurrent [span:Occurrent] entities. Processual context [span:ProcessualContext] entities are characteristically entities at or in which other occurrent [span:Occurrent] entities can be located or occur.
Examples: The processual context for a given manipulation occurring as part of an experiment is made of processual entities which occur in parallel, are not necessarily all parts of the experiment themselves and may involve continuant [snap:Continuant] entities which are in the spatial vicinity of the participants in the experiment.
Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] that exists in time by occurring or happening, has temporal parts and always involves and depends on some entity.
Examples: the life of an organism, the process of meiosis, the course of a disease, the flight of a bird
Definition: A spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] that has spatial and temporal dimensions and every spatial and temporal point of which is not connected with every other spatial and temporal point of which.
Examples: the space and time occupied by the individual games of the World Cup, the space and time occupied by the individual liaisons in a romantic affair
Definition: A temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] every point of which is not mediately or immediately connected with every other point of which.
Examples: the time occupied by the individual games of the World Cup, the time occupied by the individual liaisons in a romantic affair
Definition: A connected spatiotemporal region [span:ConnectedSpatiotemporalRegion] at a specific moment.
Examples: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a single instantaneous temporal slice (part) of a process
Definition: A connected spatiotemporal region [span:ConnectedSpatiotemporalRegion] that endures for more than a single moment of time.
Examples: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a process or by a fiat processual part
Comment: All instances of occurrent [span:Occurrent] are spatiotemporal entities, that is, they enter in the relation of (spatiotemporal) location with spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] entities. As a particular case, the exact spatiotemporal location of a spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] is this region itself.
Comment: An instance of the spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] is a part of spacetime. All parts of spacetime are spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] entities and only spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] entities are parts of spacetime. In particular, neither spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] entities nor temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] entities are in BFO parts of spacetime. Spacetime is the entire extent of the spatiotemporal universe, a designated individual, which is thus itself a spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion]. Spacetime is among occurrents the analogous of space among continuant [snap:Continuant] entities.
Comment: Spacetime and spatiotemporal region [span:SpatiotemporalRegion] entities are entities in their own rights which exist independently of any entities which can be located at them. This view of spacetime can be called "absolutist" or "the container view". In BFO, the class processual context [span:ProcessualContext] allows for a so-called relational view of spacetime, that is to say, a view according to which spatiotemporality is a matter of relative location between entities and not a matter of being tied to spacetime. In BFO, the bridge between these two views is secured through the fact that instances of processual context [span:ProcessualContext] are too spatiotemporal entities.
Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] at or in which processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] entities can be located.
Examples: the spatiotemporal region occupied by a human life, the spatiotemporal region occupied by the development of a cancer tumor, the spatiotemporal context occupied by a process of cellular meiosis
Definition: A connected temporal region [span:ConnectedTemporalRegion] comprising a single moment of time.
Examples: right now, the moment at which a finger is detached in an industrial accident, the moment at which a child is born, the moment of death
Definition: A connected temporal region [span:ConnectedTemporalRegion] lasting for more than a single moment of time.
Examples: any continuous temporal duration during which a process occurs
Comment: All instances of occurrent [span:Occurrent] are temporal entities, that is, they enter in the relation of (temporal) location with temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] entities. As a particular case, the exact spatiotemporal location of a temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] is this region itself. Continuant [snap:Continuant] entities are not temporal entities in the technical sense just explained; they are related to time in a different way, not through temporal location but through a relation of existence at a time or during a period of time (see continuant [snap:Continuant].
Comment: An instance of temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] is a part of time. All parts of time are temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] entities and only temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] entities are parts of time. Time is the entire extent of the temporal universe, a designated individual, which is thus a temporal region itself.
Comment: Time and temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] entities are entities in their own rights which exist independently of any entities which can be located at them. This view of time can be called "absolutist" or "the container view" in analogy to what is traditionally the case with space (see spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion].
Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] that is part of time.
Examples: the time it takes to run a marathon, the duration of a surgical procedure, the moment of death
example to be eventually removed
failed exploratory term
The term was used used in an attempt to structure part of the ontology but in retrospect failed to do a good job
metadata complete
Class has all its metadata, but is either not guaranteed to be in its final location in the asserted IS_A hierarchy or refers to another class that is not complete.
organizational term
term created to ease viewing/sort terms for development purpose, and will not be included in a release
ready for release
Class has undergone final review, is ready for use, and will be included in the next release. Any class lacking "ready_for_release" should be considered likely to change place in hierarchy, have its definition refined, or be obsoleted in the next release. Those classes deemed "ready_for_release" will also derived from a chain of ancestor classes that are also "ready_for_release."
metadata incomplete
Class is being worked on; however, the metadata (including definition) are not complete or sufficiently clear to the branch editors.
uncurated
Nothing done yet beyond assigning a unique class ID and proposing a preferred term.
pending final vetting
All definitions, placement in the asserted IS_A hierarchy and required minimal metadata are complete. The class is awaiting a final review by someone other than the definition editor.
core
Core is an instance of a grouping of terms from an ontology or ontologies. It is used by the ontology to identify main classes.
placeholder removed
terms merged
An editor note should explain what were the merged terms and the reason for the merge.
term imported
This is to be used when the original term has been replaced by a term imported from an other ontology. An editor note should indicate what is the URI of the new term to use.
term split
This is to be used when a term has been split in two or more new terms. An editor note should indicate the reason for the split and indicate the URIs of the new terms created.
other
This is to be used if none of the existing instances cover the reason for obsolescence. An editor note should indicate this new reason.
We expect to be able to mine these new reasons and add instances as required.
A Formal Theory of Substances, Qualities, and Universals, http://ontology.buffalo.edu/bfo/SQU.pdf
Hard to give a definition for. Intuitively a "natural kind" rather than a collection of any old things, which a class is able to be, formally. At the meta level, universals are defined as positives, are disjoint with their siblings, have single asserted parents.
"definitions", in some readings, always are given by necessary and sufficient conditions. So one must be careful (and this is difficult sometimes) to distinguish between defined classes and universal.
A defined class is a class that is defined by a set of logically necessary and sufficient conditions but is not a universal
A named class expression is a logical expression that is given a name. The name can be used in place of the expression.
named class expressions are used in order to have more concise logical definition but their extensions may not be interesting classes on their own. In languages such as OWL, with no provisions for macros, these show up as actuall classes. Tools may with to not show them as such, and to replace uses of the macros with their expansions
to be replaced with external ontology term
Terms with this status should eventually replaced with a term from another ontology.
requires discussion
A term that is metadata complete, has been reviewed, and problems have been identified that require discussion before release. Such a term requires editor note(s) to identify the outstanding issues.