Relation
type: AnnotationProperty
description: Recommended best practice is to reference the resource by means of a string or number conforming to a formal identification system.
comment: A reference to a related resource.

Description
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: An account of the content of the resource.
description: 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.

Contributor
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: An entity responsible for making contributions to the content of the resource.
description: 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.

Language
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: A language of the intellectual content of the resource.
description: 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.

Resource Type
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: The nature or genre of the content of the resource.
description: 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.

Source
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: A reference to a resource from which the present resource is derived.
description: 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.

Creator
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: An entity primarily responsible for making the content of the resource.
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: An entity responsible for making the resource available
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: The topic of the content of the resource.
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
description: 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.
comment: The extent or scope of the content of the resource.

Resource Identifier
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: A date associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource.
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
comment: The physical or digital manifestation of the resource.
description: 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
type: AnnotationProperty
description: Typically, a Title will be a name by which the resource is formally known.
comment: A name given to the resource.

Rights Management
type: AnnotationProperty
description: 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.
comment: Information about rights held in and over the resource.

adjacent_to
type: ObjectProperty
comment: Note that adjacent_to as thus defined is not a symmetric relation, in contrast to its instance-level counterpart. For it can be the case that Cs are in general such as to be adjacent to instances of C1 while no analogous statement holds for C1s in general in relation to instances of C. Examples are: nuclear membrane adjacent_to cytoplasm; seminal vesicle adjacent_to urinary bladder; ovary adjacent_to parietal pelvic peritoneum
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship
has definition: C adjacent to C' if and only if: given any instance c that instantiates C at a time t, there is some c' such that: c' instantiates C' at time t and c and c' are in spatial proximity
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

agent_in
type: ObjectProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: participates_in

contained_in
type: ObjectProperty
comment: Containment obtains in each case between material and immaterial continuants, for instance: lung contained_in thoracic cavity; bladder contained_in pelvic cavity. Hence containment is not a transitive relation. If c part_of c1 at t then we have also, by our definition and by the axioms of mereology applied to spatial regions, c located_in c1 at t. Thus, many examples of instance-level location relations for continuants are in fact cases of instance-level parthood. For material continuants location and parthood coincide. Containment is location not involving parthood, and arises only where some immaterial continuant is involved. To understand this relation, we first define overlap for continuants as follows: c1 overlap c2 at t =def for some c, c part_of c1 at t and c part_of c2 at t. The containment relation on the instance level can then be defined (see definition):
has OBO namespace: relationship
has definition: Definition
  label: C contained_in C' if and only if: given any instance c that instantiates C at a time t, there is some c' such that: c' instantiates C' at time t and c located_in c' at t, and it is not the case that c *overlaps* c' at t. (c' is a conduit or cavity.)
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

contains
type: ObjectProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship

derived_into
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship

derives_from
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: Derivation as a relation between instances. The temporal relation of derivation is more complex. Transformation, on the instance level, is just the relation of identity: each adult is identical to some child existing at some earlier time. Derivation on the instance-level is a relation holding between non-identicals. More precisely, it holds between distinct material continuants when one succeeds the other across a temporal divide in such a way that at least a biologically significant portion of the matter of the earlier continuant is inherited by the later. Thus we will have axioms to the effect that from c derives_from c1 we can infer that c and c1 are not identical and that there is some instant of time t such that c1 exists only prior to and c only subsequent to t. We will also be able to infer that the spatial region occupied by c as it begins to exist at t overlaps with the spatial region occupied by c1 as it ceases to exist in the same instant.
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship
has definition: Definition
  label: Derivation on the instance level (*derives_from*) holds between distinct material continuants when one succeeds the other across a temporal divide in such a way that at least a biologically significant portion of the matter of the earlier continuant is inherited by the later. We say that one class C derives_from class C' if instances of C are connected to instances of C' via some chain of instance-level derivation relations. Example: osteocyte derives_from osteoblast. Formally: C derives_immediately_from C' if and only if: given any c and any t, if c instantiates C at time t, then there is some c' and some t', such that c' instantiates C' at t' and t' earlier-than t and c *derives_from* c'. C derives_from C' if and only if: there is an chain of immediate derivation relations connecting C to C'.
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874
has exact synonym: derived_from

has_agent
type: ObjectProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: has_participant
has definition: As for has_participant, but with the additional condition that the component instance is causally active in the relevant process
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

has_improper_part
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: See reasons for obsoletion of improper_part_of
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
sub property of: has_part

has_integral_part
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: has_part

has_part
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship

has_participant
type: ObjectProperty
comment: Has_participant is a primitive instance-level relation between a process, a continuant, and a time at which the continuant participates in some way in the process. The relation obtains, for example, when this particular process of oxygen exchange across this particular alveolar membrane has_participant this particular sample of hemoglobin at this particular time.
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship
has definition: P has_participant C if and only if: given any process p that instantiates P there is some continuant c, and some time t, such that: c instantiates C at t and c participates in p at t
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

has_proper_part
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: has_part

improper_part_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: OBSOLETE. The definition is "As for part_of, with the additional constraint that subject and object may be identical". However, part_of is already reflexive, therefore improper_part_of is identical to part_of. If read differently, as "improper_part_of is part_of but not proper_part_of",improper_part_of becomes identity. So, improper_part_of is either identical to part_of or to identity, and not an intuitive synonym for either of them. [Robert Hoehndorf]
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
sub property of: part_of
has definition: As for part_of, with the additional constraint that subject and object may be identical
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

integral_part_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: part_of
has definition: C integral_part_of C' if and only if: C part_of C' AND C' has_part C
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

located_in
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: Location as a relation between instances: The primitive instance-level relation c located_in r at t reflects the fact that each continuant is at any given time associated with exactly one spatial region, namely its exact location. Following we can use this relation to define a further instance-level location relation - not between a continuant and the region which it exactly occupies, but rather between one continuant and another. c is located in c1, in this sense, whenever the spatial region occupied by c is part_of the spatial region occupied by c1. Note that this relation comprehends both the relation of exact location between one continuant and another which obtains when r and r1 are identical (for example, when a portion of fluid exactly fills a cavity), as well as those sorts of inexact location relations which obtain, for example, between brain and head or between ovum and uterus
has OBO namespace: relationship
has definition: Definition
  label: C located_in C' if and only if: given any c that instantiates C at a time t, there is some c' such that: c' instantiates C' at time t and c *located_in* c'. (Here *located_in* is the instance-level location relation.)
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

location_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship

part_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: Parthood as a relation between instances: The primitive instance-level relation p part_of p1 is illustrated in assertions such as: this instance of rhodopsin mediated phototransduction part_of this instance of visual perception. This relation satisfies at least the following standard axioms of mereology: reflexivity (for all p, p part_of p); anti-symmetry (for all p, p1, if p part_of p1 and p1 part_of p then p and p1 are identical); and transitivity (for all p, p1, p2, if p part_of p1 and p1 part_of p2, then p part_of p2). Analogous axioms hold also for parthood as a relation between spatial regions. For parthood as a relation between continuants, these axioms need to be modified to take account of the incorporation of a temporal argument. Thus for example the axiom of transitivity for continuants will assert that if c part_of c1 at t and c1 part_of c2 at t, then also c part_of c2 at t. Parthood as a relation between classes: To define part_of as a relation between classes we again need to distinguish the two cases of continuants and processes, even though the explicit reference to instants of time now falls away. For continuants, we have C part_of C1 if and only if any instance of C at any time is an instance-level part of some instance of C1 at that time, as for example in: cell nucleus part_ of cell.
has OBO namespace: relationship
has definition: Definition
  label: For continuants: C part_of C' if and only if: given any c that instantiates C at a time t, there is some c' such that c' instantiates C' at time t, and c *part_of* c' at t. For processes: P part_of P' if and only if: given any p that instantiates P at a time t, there is some p' such that p' instantiates P' at time t, and p *part_of* p' at t. (Here *part_of* is the instance-level part-relation.)
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

participates_in
type: ObjectProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship

preceded_by
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: An example is: translation preceded_by transcription; aging preceded_by development (not however death preceded_by aging). Where derives_from links classes of continuants, preceded_by links classes of processes. Clearly, however, these two relations are not independent of each other. Thus if cells of type C1 derive_from cells of type C, then any cell division involving an instance of C1 in a given lineage is preceded_by cellular processes involving an instance of C. The assertion P preceded_by P1 tells us something about Ps in general: that is, it tells us something about what happened earlier, given what we know about what happened later. Thus it does not provide information pointing in the opposite direction, concerning instances of P1 in general; that is, that each is such as to be succeeded by some instance of P. Note that an assertion to the effect that P preceded_by P1 is rather weak; it tells us little about the relations between the underlying instances in virtue of which the preceded_by relation obtains. Typically we will be interested in stronger relations, for example in the relation immediately_preceded_by, or in relations which combine preceded_by with a condition to the effect that the corresponding instances of P and P1 share participants, or that their participants are connected by relations of derivation, or (as a first step along the road to a treatment of causality) that the one process in some way affects (for example, initiates or regulates) the other.
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship
has definition: P preceded_by P' if and only if: given any process p that instantiates P at a time t, there is some process p' such that p' instantiates P' at time t', and t' is earlier than t.
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

precedes
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship

proper_part_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: part_of
has definition: As for part_of, with the additional constraint that subject and object are distinct
  type: Definition
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

relationship
type: ObjectProperty
comment: this relation was superfluous, so it has been obsoleted
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty
has definition: A relationship between two classes (terms). Relationships between classes are expressed in terms of relations on underlying instances.
  type: Definition
  has db xref: GOC:cjm
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/GOC#GOC_cjm

transformation_of
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
comment: When an embryonic oenocyte (a type of insect cell) is transformed into a larval oenocyte, one and the same continuant entity preserves its identity while instantiating distinct classes at distinct times. The class-level relation transformation_of obtains between continuant classes C and C1 wherever each instance of the class C is such as to have existed at some earlier time as an instance of the distinct class C1 (see Figure 2 in paper). This relation is illustrated first of all at the molecular level of granularity by the relation between mature RNA and the pre-RNA from which it is processed, or between (UV-induced) thymine-dimer and thymine dinucleotide. At coarser levels of granularity it is illustrated by the transformations involved in the creation of red blood cells, for example, from reticulocyte to erythrocyte, and by processes of development, for example, from larva to pupa, or from (post-gastrular) embryo to fetus or from child to adult. It is also manifest in pathological transformations, for example, of normal colon into carcinomatous colon. In each such case, one and the same continuant entity instantiates distinct classes at different times in virtue of phenotypic changes.
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: relationship
has definition: Definition
  label: Relation between two classes, in which instances retain their identity yet change their classification by virtue of some kind of transformation. Formally: C transformation_of C' if and only if given any c and any t, if c instantiates C at time t, then for some t', c instantiates C' at t' and t' earlier t, and there is no t2 such that c instantiates C at t2 and c instantiates C' at t2.
  has db xref: PMID:15892874
    type: DbXref
    has URI: http://purl.org/obo/owl/PMID#PMID_15892874

transformed_into
type: ObjectProperty
comment: Obsoleted
has OBO namespace: relationship
sub property of: ObsoleteProperty

entity
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: continuant
  union of: occurrent

continuant
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: dependent_continuant
  union of: independent_continuant
  union of: spatial_region
subclass of: entity
disjoint with: occurrent
comment: 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.
comment: 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
comment: Synonyms: endurant

dependent_continuant
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: generically_dependent_continuant
  union of: specifically_dependent_continuant
subclass of: continuant
disjoint with: independent_continuant
disjoint with: spatial_region
comment: 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.

disposition
type: Class
subclass of: realizable_entity
disjoint with: function
disjoint with: role
comment: 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.
comment: 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.

fiat_object_part
type: Class
subclass of: independent_continuant
disjoint with: object
disjoint with: object_aggregate
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] that is part of an object [snap:Object] but is not demarcated by any physical discontinuities.
comment: 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
comment: Synonyms: fiat substance part

function
type: Class
subclass of: realizable_entity
disjoint with: role
comment: 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.
comment: 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

generically_dependent_continuant
type: Class
subclass of: dependent_continuant
disjoint with: specifically_dependent_continuant
comment: 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.
comment: Examples: a certain PDF file that exists in different and in several hard drives

independent_continuant
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: fiat_object_part
  union of: object
  union of: object_aggregate
  union of: object_boundary
  union of: site
subclass of: continuant
disjoint with: spatial_region
comment: 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.
comment: 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
comment: Synonyms: substantial entity

object
type: Class
subclass of: independent_continuant
disjoint with: object_aggregate
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] 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.
comment: Examples: an organism, a heart, a chair, a lung, an apple
comment: Synonyms: substance

object_aggregate
type: Class
subclass of: independent_continuant
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: Definition: An independent continuant [snap:IndependentContinuant] that is a mereological sum of separate object [snap:Object] entities and possesses non-connected boundaries.
comment: 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: Synonyms: substance aggregate

object_boundary
type: Class
subclass of: independent_continuant
disjoint with: site
comment: 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.
comment: 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.
comment: 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
comment: Synonyms: substance boundary

one_dimensional_region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial_region
disjoint with: three_dimensional_region
disjoint with: two_dimensional_region
disjoint with: zero_dimensional_region
comment: Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with one dimension.
comment: 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

quality
type: Class
subclass of: specifically_dependent_continuant
disjoint with: realizable_entity
comment: Definition: A specifically dependent continuant [snap:SpecificallyDependentContinuant] that is exhibited if it inheres in an entity or entities at all (a categorical property).
comment: 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

realizable_entity
type: Class
subclass of: specifically_dependent_continuant
comment: Comment: If a realizable entity [snap:RealizableEntity] inheres in a continuant [snap:Continuant], this does not imply that it is actually realized.
comment: 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.
comment: 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

role
type: Class
subclass of: realizable_entity
comment: 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.
comment: 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

site
type: Class
subclass of: independent_continuant
comment: 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 sites) 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).
comment: 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.
comment: Examples: a particular room in a particular hospital, Maria's nostril or her intestines for a variety of bacteria.

spatial_region
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: one_dimensional_region
  union of: three_dimensional_region
  union of: two_dimensional_region
  union of: zero_dimensional_region
subclass of: continuant
comment: 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: 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: 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.
comment: Definition: A continuant [snap:Continuant] that is neither bearer of quality [snap:Quality] entities nor inheres in any other entities.
comment: Examples: the sum total of all space in the universe, parts of the sum total of all space in the universe

specifically_dependent_continuant
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: quality
  union of: realizable_entity
subclass of: dependent_continuant
comment: 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.
comment: 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.
comment: Synonyms: property, trope, mode

three_dimensional_region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial_region
disjoint with: two_dimensional_region
disjoint with: zero_dimensional_region
comment: Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with three dimensions.
comment: Examples: a cube-shaped part of space, a sphere-shaped part of space

two_dimensional_region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial_region
disjoint with: zero_dimensional_region
comment: Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with two dimensions.
comment: 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

zero_dimensional_region
type: Class
subclass of: spatial_region
comment: Definition: A spatial region [snap:SpatialRegion] with no dimensions.
comment: Examples: a point

connected_spatiotemporal_region
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: spatiotemporal_instant
  union of: spatiotemporal_interval
subclass of: spatiotemporal_region
disjoint with: scattered_spatiotemporal_region
comment: Definition: A space time region [span:SpaceTimeRegion] 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 space time region [span:SpaceTimeRegion].
comment: Examples: the spatial and temporal location of an individual organism's life, the spatial and temporal location of the development of a fetus

connected_temporal_region
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: temporal_instant
  union of: temporal_interval
subclass of: temporal_region
disjoint with: scattered_temporal_region
comment: Definition: A temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] every point of which is mediately or immediately connected with every other point of which.
comment: Examples: the 1970s years, the time from the beginning to the end of a heart attack, the time taken up by cellular meiosis

fiat_process_part
type: Class
subclass of: processual_entity
disjoint with: process
disjoint with: process_aggregate
disjoint with: process_boundary
disjoint with: processual_context
comment: 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.
comment: 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

occurrent
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: processual_entity
  union of: spatiotemporal_region
  union of: temporal_region
subclass of: entity
comment: Definition: An entity [bfo:Entity] that has temporal parts and that happens, unfolds or develops through time. Sometimes also called perdurants.
comment: 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
comment: Synonyms: perdurant

process
type: Class
subclass of: processual_entity
disjoint with: process_aggregate
disjoint with: process_boundary
disjoint with: processual_context
comment: Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is a maximally connected spatiotemporal whole and has bona fide beginnings and endings corresponding to real discontinuities.
comment: Examples: the life of an organism, the process of sleeping, the process of cell-division

process_aggregate
type: Class
subclass of: processual_entity
disjoint with: process_boundary
disjoint with: processual_context
comment: Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is a mereological sum of process [span:Process] entities and possesses non-connected boundaries.
comment: 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

process_boundary
type: Class
subclass of: processual_entity
disjoint with: processual_context
comment: Definition: A processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] that is the fiat or bona fide instantaneous temporal process boundary.
comment: 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

processual_context
type: Class
subclass of: processual_entity
comment: 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.
comment: 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.
comment: 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.

processual_entity
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: fiat_process_part
  union of: process
  union of: process_aggregate
  union of: process_boundary
  union of: processual_context
subclass of: occurrent
disjoint with: spatiotemporal_region
disjoint with: temporal_region
comment: Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] that exists in time by occurring or happening, has temporal parts and always involves and depends on some entity.
comment: Examples: the life of an organism, the process of meiosis, the course of a disease, the flight of a bird

scattered_spatiotemporal_region
type: Class
subclass of: spatiotemporal_region
comment: Definition: A space time region [span:SpaceTimeRegion] 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.
comment: 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

scattered_temporal_region
type: Class
subclass of: temporal_region
comment: Definition: A temporal region [span:TemporalRegion] every point of which is not mediately or immediately connected with every other point of which.
comment: Examples: the time occupied by the individual games of the World Cup, the time occupied by the individual liaisons in a romantic affair

spatiotemporal_instant
type: Class
subclass of: connected_spatiotemporal_region
disjoint with: spatiotemporal_interval
comment: Definition: A connected space time region [span:ConnectedSpaceTimeRegion] at a specific moment.
comment: Examples: the space time region occupied by a single instantaneous temporal slice (part) of a process

spatiotemporal_interval
type: Class
subclass of: connected_spatiotemporal_region
comment: Definition: A connected space time region [span:ConnectedSpaceTimeRegion] that endures for more than a single moment of time.
comment: Examples: the space time region occupied by a process or by a fiat processual part

spatiotemporal_region
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: connected_spatiotemporal_region
  union of: scattered_spatiotemporal_region
subclass of: occurrent
disjoint with: temporal_region
comment: 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: 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: 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.
comment: Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] at or in which processual entity [span:ProcessualEntity] entities can be located.
comment: 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

temporal_instant
type: Class
subclass of: connected_temporal_region
disjoint with: temporal_interval
comment: Definition: A connected temporal region [span:ConnectedTemporalRegion] comprising a single moment of time.
comment: 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

temporal_interval
type: Class
subclass of: connected_temporal_region
comment: Definition: A connected temporal region [span:ConnectedTemporalRegion] lasting for more than a single moment of time.
comment: Examples: any continuous temporal duration during which a process occurs

temporal_region
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: connected_temporal_region
  union of: scattered_temporal_region
subclass of: occurrent
comment: 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: 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: 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].
comment: Definition: An occurrent [span:Occurrent] that is part of time.
comment: Examples: the time it takes to run a marathon, the duration of a surgical procedure, the moment of death