term replaced by
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition: Use on obsolete terms, relating the term to another term that can be used as a substitute
editor preferred term: term replaced by
has curation status: pending final vetting

expand expression to
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: Chris Mungall
definition: 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
example of usage: 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 preferred term: expand expression to

definition
type: AnnotationProperty
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition: The official definition, explaining the meaning of a class or property. Shall be Aristotelian, formalized and normalized. Can be augmented with colloquial definitions.
editor preferred term: definition
has curation status: ready for release

editor note
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: 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.
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obfoundry.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
editor preferred term: editor note
has curation status: ready for release

in branch
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An annotation property indicating which module the terms belong to. This is currently experimental and not implemented yet.
definition editor: GROUP:OBI
definition source: OBI_0000277
editor preferred term: in branch

has curation status
type: AnnotationProperty
definition source: OBI_0000281
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON:Bill Bug
definition editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
editor preferred term: has curation status

curator note
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An administrative note of use for a curator but of no use for a user
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
editor preferred term: curator note
has curation status: ready for release

definition source
type: AnnotationProperty
definition source: Discussion on obo-discuss mailing-list, see http://bit.ly/hgm99w
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
editor preferred term: definition source
definition: 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
has curation status: ready for release

antisymmetric property
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
editor preferred term: antisymmetric property
example of usage: part_of antisymmetric property xsd:true
definition: use boolean value xsd:true to indicate that the property is an antisymmetric property

first order logic expression
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
editor preferred term: first order logic expression

OBO foundry unique label
type: AnnotationProperty
editor note: 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 .
definition: An alternative name for a class or property which is unique across the OBO Foundry.
definition source: GROUP:OBO Foundry <http://obofoundry.org/>
editor preferred term: OBO foundry unique label
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON:Bjoern Peters
definition editor: PERSON:Chris Mungall
definition editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
has curation status: pending final vetting

definition editor
type: AnnotationProperty
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition: 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
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
editor preferred term: definition editor
has curation status: ready for release

expand assertion to
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: A macro expansion tag applied to an annotation property which can be expanded into a more detailed axiom.
definition editor: Chris Mungall
example of usage: 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)"
editor preferred term: expand assertion to

alternative term
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: An alternative name for a class or property which means the same thing as the preferred name (semantically equivalent)
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
editor preferred term: alternative term
has curation status: pending final vetting

has obsolescence reason
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
definition: 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.
editor preferred term: has obsolescence reason

editor preferred term
type: AnnotationProperty
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
definition: The concise, meaningful, and human-friendly name for a class or property preferred by the ontology developers. (US-English)
editor preferred term: editor preferred term
has curation status: ready for release

example of usage
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: 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
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Daniel Schober
editor preferred term: example
has curation status: ready for release

is denotator type
type: AnnotationProperty
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
editor note: In OWL 2 add AnnotationPropertyRange('is denotator type' 'denotator type')
definition: relates an class defined in an ontology, to the type of it's denotator
editor preferred term: is denotator type

imported from
type: AnnotationProperty
definition: For external terms/classes, the ontology from which the term was imported
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition editor: PERSON:Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON:Melanie Courtot
editor preferred term: imported from
has curation status: pending final vetting

inheres in
type: ObjectProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
alternative term: inheres_in
inverse of: is bearer of

is bearer of
type: ObjectProperty
alternative term: bearer of
alternative term: bearer_of

is aggregate of
type: ObjectProperty
alternative term: aggregate of
alternative term: aggregate_of
equivalent property: is-aggregate-of
sub property of: topObjectProperty

is member of organization
type: ObjectProperty
editor note: 2009/10/01 Alan Ruttenberg. Barry prefers generic is-member-of. Question of what the range should be. For now organization. Is organization a population? Would the same relation be used to record members of a population
definition editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Person:Helen Parkinson
definition editor: Person:Helen Parkinson
definition: Relating a legal person to an organization in the case where the legal person has a role as member of the organization
editor preferred term: is member of organization

is-aggregate-of
type: ObjectProperty
has obsolescence reason: BFO relation takes precedence.
comment: We anticipate BFO 2.0 including and defining this relation. When it does, we will obsolete this property and declare it equivalent to the BFO 2.0 relation.
deprecated: true

is-component-of-aggregate
type: ObjectProperty
comment: At the instance level, this relation is the named inverse of is-aggregate-of. At the type level, however, not so. We expect BFO 2.0 to have this relation as well, and we will obsolete this property and declare it equivalent to BFO's version when BFO 2.0 comes out.

data item
type: Class
subclass of: information content entity

information content entity
type: Class
subclass of: generically_dependent_continuant

curation status specification
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: uncurated
  one of: to be replaced with external ontology term
  one of: pending final vetting
  one of: ready for release
  one of: metadata incomplete
  one of: requires discussion
  one of: metadata complete
  one of: organizational term
  one of: example to be eventually removed
subclass of: data about an ontology part
editor note: Better to represent curation as a process with parts and then relate labels to that process (in IAO meeting)
definition source: GROUP:OBI:<http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/obi>
definition source: OBI_0000266
definition editor: PERSON:Bill Bug
definition: 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.
editor preferred term: curation status specification
has curation status: pending final vetting

data about an ontology part
type: Class
subclass of: data item
definition editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition: data about an ontology part is a data item about a part of an ontology, for example a term

obsolescence reason specification
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: other
  one of: terms merged
  one of: term imported
  one of: placeholder removed
  one of: failed exploratory term
  one of: term split
subclass of: data about an ontology part
definition editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot
editor note: The creation of this class has been inspired in part by Werner Ceusters' paper, Applying evolutionary terminology auditing to the Gene Ontology.
definition: 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.
editor preferred term: obsolescence reason specification
has curation status: pending final vetting

denotator type
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  one of: universal
  one of: defined class
  one of: named class expression
subclass of: data about an ontology part
definition: A denotator type indicates how a term should be interpreted from an ontological perspective.
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: Barry Smith, Werner Ceusters
example of usage: 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.

Teleostomi
type: Class
subclass of: Gnathostomata
editor preferred term: Teleostomi
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Euteleostomi
type: Class
subclass of: Teleostomi
editor preferred term: Euteleostomi
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Homo/Pan/Gorilla group
type: Class
subclass of: Hominidae
editor preferred term: Homo/Pan/Gorilla group
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Eukaryota
type: Class
subclass of: organism
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Euarchontoglires
type: Class
subclass of: Eutheria
editor preferred term: Euarchontoglires
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Simiiformes
type: Class
subclass of: Haplorrhini
editor preferred term: Simiiformes
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Hominoidea
type: Class
subclass of: Catarrhini
editor preferred term: Hominoidea
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Tetrapoda
type: Class
subclass of: Sarcopterygii
editor preferred term: Tetrapoda
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Amniota
type: Class
subclass of: Tetrapoda
editor preferred term: Amniota
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Theria
type: Class
subclass of: Mammalia
editor preferred term: Theria
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Fungi/Metazoa group
type: Class
subclass of: Eukaryota
editor preferred term: Fungi/Metazoa group
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Metazoa
type: Class
subclass of: Fungi/Metazoa group
editor preferred term: Metazoa
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Bilateria
type: Class
subclass of: Eumetazoa
editor preferred term: Bilateria
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Coelomata
type: Class
subclass of: Bilateria
editor preferred term: Coelomata
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Deuterostomia
type: Class
subclass of: Coelomata
editor preferred term: Deuterostomia
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Haplorrhini
type: Class
subclass of: Primates
editor preferred term: Haplorrhini
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Mammalia
type: Class
subclass of: Amniota
editor preferred term: Mammalia
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Eumetazoa
type: Class
subclass of: Metazoa
editor preferred term: Eumetazoa
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Chordata
type: Class
subclass of: Deuterostomia
editor preferred term: Chordata
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Vertebrata
type: Class
subclass of: Craniata
editor preferred term: Vertebrata
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Gnathostomata
type: Class
subclass of: Vertebrata
editor preferred term: Gnathostomata
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Sarcopterygii
type: Class
subclass of: Euteleostomi
editor preferred term: Sarcopterygii
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Craniata
type: Class
subclass of: Chordata
editor preferred term: Craniata
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Eutheria
type: Class
subclass of: Theria
editor preferred term: Eutheria
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Primates
type: Class
subclass of: Euarchontoglires
editor preferred term: Primates
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Catarrhini
type: Class
subclass of: Simiiformes
editor preferred term: Catarrhini
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Hominidae
type: Class
subclass of: Hominoidea
editor preferred term: Hominidae
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Homo
type: Class
subclass of: Homo/Pan/Gorilla group
editor preferred term: Homo
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

Homo sapiens
type: Class
subclass of: Homo
alternative term: human being
editor preferred term: Homo sapiens
imported from: ncbitaxon.owl

organization
type: Class
subclass of: material_entity
definition source: GROUP: OBI
definition editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON: Bjoern Peters
definition editor: PERSON: Philippe Rocca-Serra
definition editor: PERSON: Susanna Sansone
definition: An organization is a continuant entity which can play roles, has members, and has a set of organization rules. Members of organizations are either organizations themselves or individual people. Members can bear specific organization member roles that are determined in the organization rules. The organization rules also determine how decisions are made on behalf of the organization by the organization members.
editor note: BP: The definition summarizes long email discussions on the OBI developer, roles, biomaterial and denrie branches. It leaves open if an organization is a material entity or a dependent continuant, as no consensus was reached on that. The current placement as material is therefore temporary, in order to move forward with development. Here is the entire email summary, on which the definition is based: 1) there are organization_member_roles (president, treasurer, branch editor), with individual persons as bearers 2) there are organization_roles (employer, owner, vendor, patent holder) 3) an organization has a charter / rules / bylaws, which specify what roles there are, how they should be realized, and how to modify the charter/rules/bylaws themselves. It is debatable what the organization itself is (some kind of dependent continuant or an aggregate of people). This also determines who/what the bearer of organization_roles' are. My personal favorite is still to define organization as a kind of 'legal entity', but thinking it through leads to all kinds of questions that are clearly outside the scope of OBI. Interestingly enough, it does not seem to matter much where we place organization itself, as long as we can subclass it (University, Corporation, Government Agency, Hospital), instantiate it (Affymetrix, NCBI, NIH, ISO, W3C, University of Oklahoma), and have it play roles. This leads to my proposal: We define organization through the statements 1 - 3 above, but without an 'is a' statement for now. We can leave it in its current place in the is_a hierarchy (material entity) or move it up to 'continuant'. We leave further clarifications to BFO, and close this issue for now.
example of usage: PMID: 16353909.AAPS J. 2005 Sep 22;7(2):E274-80. Review. The joint food and agriculture organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives and its role in the evaluation of the safety of veterinary drug residues in foods.
editor preferred term: organization
has curation status: ready for release

organism
type: Class
subclass of: object
editor note: 10/21/09: This is a placeholder term, that should ideally be imported from the NCBI taxonomy, but the high level hierarchy there does not suit our needs (includes plasmids and 'other organisms')
editor note: 13-02-2009: OBI doesn't take position as to when an organism starts or ends being an organism - e.g. sperm, foetus. This issue is outside the scope of OBI.
definition editor: GROUP: OBI Biomaterial Branch
definition: A material entity that is an individual living system, such as animal, plant, bacteria or virus, that is capable of replicating or reproducing, growth and maintenance in the right environment. An organism may be unicellular or made up, like humans, of many billions of cells divided into specialized tissues and organs.
definition source: WEB: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organism
example of usage: animal
example of usage: fungus
editor preferred term: organism
example of usage: plant
example of usage: virus
has curation status: organizational term

human social role
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: organism social role
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: inheres in
    all values from: Homo sapiens
subclass of: organism social role
definition: A social role inhering in a human being.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen William R. Hogan

party to a legal entity
type: Class
subclass of: role in human social processes

party to a legal proceeding
type: Class
subclass of: party to a legal entity

party to a legal agreement
type: Class
subclass of: party to a legal entity

party to a marriage contract
type: Class
subclass of: party to a legal agreement

party to a power of attorney
type: Class
subclass of: party to a legal entity

gender role
type: Class
subclass of: role in human social processes
definition: A human social role borne by a human being being realized in behaviour which is considered socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_role

male gender role
type: Class
subclass of: gender role
definition: A gender role borne by a human being that is realized in behaviour which is considered socially appropriate for individuals of the male sex in the context of the culture in question.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative term: male gender

female gender role
type: Class
subclass of: gender role
definition: A gender role borne by a human being that is realized in behaviour which is considered socially appropriate for individuals of the female sex in the context of the culture in question.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative term: female gender

human health care role
type: Class
subclass of: role in human social processes
definition: A human social role that is realized by health care processes such as seeking or providing treatment for disease and injury, diagnosing disease and injury, or undergoing diagnosis.
definition editor: William R. Hogan Mathias Brochhausen
alternative term: health care role

patient role
type: Class
subclass of: Class
  intersection of: human health care role
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: inheres in
    all values from: organism
definition: A role borne by an organism being as the recipient of a health care service.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patient
alternative term: patient

health care provider role
type: Class
subclass of: human health care role
subclass of: Restriction
  on property: inheres in
  all values from: Class
    union of: Homo sapiens
    union of: organization
definition: A human health care role inhering in an organization or human being that is realized by a process of providing health care services to an organism.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen William R. Hogan

physician role
type: Class
subclass of: health care provider role
definition: A health care role borne by a human being and realized by promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician
alternative term: physician

nurse role
type: Class
subclass of: health care provider role
definition: A health care role borne by a human being and realized by the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
definition source: based on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing
alternative term: nurse

health care provider organization role
type: Class
subclass of: organization health care role
comment: Definition needed, but the idea is that we want to differentiate between provider and payer organizations. Some organizaitons have both roles (e.g., UPMC has a Hospital Division, a Physician Divison, and an Insurance Division).

person health care provider role
type: Class
subclass of: human social role

physician practice
type: Class
subclass of: health care provider organization role

hospital role
type: Class
subclass of: health care provider role
definition: A role borne by an organization and realized by providing healthcare services by healthcare professionals of multiple different disciplines of medicine and enabling stationary treatment.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
alternative term: hospital

integrated delivery network
type: Class
subclass of: health care provider organization role

collection of organisms
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: organism
subclass of: object_aggregate
definition: An object aggregate of organisms.
comment: Any arbitrary collection of organisms. They need not be of the same taxonomic class.

collection of humans
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: Homo sapiens
subclass of: collection of organisms
comment: An object aggregate all of whose components are human beings.

role in human social processes
type: Class
subclass of: role
definition: A role inhering in an entity realized by social interactions in human society.
definition editor: Mathias Brochhausen
comment: Previous definition: A role played by an entity in human social processes.

organization social role
type: Class
subclass of: role in human social processes
definition: A role in human social processes that inheres in an organization.
comment: Defined class that we will ultimately move to an application ontology. We are leaving here for now until we determine which application ontology: it is likely going to be an ontology that does not currently (2012-06-05) exist. Ditto for its current descendants.
definition editor: William R. Hogan

organism social role
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: role in human social processes
  intersection of: Restriction
    on property: inheres in
    all values from: organism
subclass of: role in human social processes
definition: A role in human social processes that inheres in an organism.
comment: Defined class that we will ultimately move to an application ontology. We are leaving here for now until we determine which application ontology: it is likely going to be an ontology that does not currently (2012-06-05) exist. Ditto for its current descendants.
comment: Includes animals as well as humans. For example, pet, assistance animal, animal grown for food, work animal, domesticated animal, K-9, etc. Human roles include gender role, party to legal entities, health care provider roles like doctor, nurse, etc.
comment: Previous definition: A role in human social processes played by an organism.
definition editor: William R. Hogan Mathias Brochhausen

organization health care role
type: Class
subclass of: organization social role
definition: An organization social role that is realized by a health care process.
comment: Previous definition: An organization social role played by an organization in health care processes.

geopolitical organization
type: Class
subclass of: organization
definition: An organization that governs the people living in a particular geographical region or aggregate of geographical regions. The geographical region it governs can change over time (such as the westward expansion of the United States and the addition of Hawaii).
definition editor: William R. Hogan

sovereign state
type: Class
subclass of: geopolitical organization
definition: A geopolitical entity with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states.
comment: Per Wikipedia, the word 'nation' does not always refer to soverign states. For example, the "nation of Islam".
definition editor: William R. Hogan
definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_state
alternative term: nation
alternative term: nation state

subnational entity
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is member of organization
  on class: sovereign state
  qualified cardinality: 1
subclass of: geopolitical organization
definition: A geopolitical entity that recognizes a sovereign state as its only higher political authority.
definition editor: William R. Hogan

major administrative subdivision
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is member of organization
  on class: sovereign state
  qualified cardinality: 1
subclass of: subnational entity
definition: A subnational entity that is the primary organizational member of a nation, is subject to the full set of laws of the nation, enjoys all the privileges established under the laws of the nation, is not a member of any other geopolitical entity, and itself governs a part of the geographical region governed by the nation.

geopolitical dependency
type: Class
subclass of: subnational entity
definition: A subnational entity that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a sovereign state, but remains politically outside of the controlling state and controls a geographical region that is outside the controlling state's integral region.
comment: Typically, the common feature is that the dependency does not conduct foreign affairs, and relegates this authority to the sovereign state. BUt otherwise, it is largely or completely autonomous relative to the administrative subdivisions. Examples include Puerto Rico (U.S.), Guam (U.S.), Greenland (Denmark), French Polynesia (France), and Falkland Islands (United Kingdom).

aggregate of organizations
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: organization
subclass of: object_aggregate
definition: An aggregate of organizations that have some feature in common, but is not itself an organization.
comment: It is often convenient to group organizations together that otherwise might not even interact with one another.
definition editor: William R. Hogan

aggregate of sovereign states
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: sovereign state
subclass of: aggregate of geopolitical organizations
definition: An aggregate of sovereign states that share some feature in common, but is not an organization nor necessarily the outcome of some treaty among them.
definition editor: William R. Hogan

aggregate of geopolitical organizations
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: geopolitical organization
subclass of: aggregate of organizations
definition: An aggregate of geopolitical organizations with some feature in common.
comment: Examples: all sovereign states whose territory is part of North America, all British Crown Dependencies, all midwestern US States, all US dependencies, etc.
definition editor: William R. Hogan

aggregate of dependencies
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: geopolitical dependency
subclass of: aggregate of geopolitical organizations

aggregate of major administrative subdivisions
type: Class
equivalent class: Restriction
  on property: is-aggregate-of
  some values from: major administrative subdivision
subclass of: aggregate of geopolitical organizations

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: material_entity
disjoint with: object
disjoint with: object_aggregate
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: Definition: A material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] 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: material_entity
  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

material_entity
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  union of: fiat_object_part
  union of: object
  union of: object_aggregate
subclass of: independent_continuant
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: 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.
comment: Examples: collection of random bacteria, a chair, dorsal surface of the body

object
type: Class
subclass of: material_entity
disjoint with: object_aggregate
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: 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.
comment: Examples: an organism, a heart, a chair, a lung, an apple
comment: Synonyms: substance

object_aggregate
type: Class
subclass of: material_entity
disjoint with: object_boundary
disjoint with: site
comment: Definition: A material entity [snap:MaterialEntity] 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 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).
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 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].
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 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.
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 spatiotemporal region [span:ConnectedSpatiotemporalRegion] at a specific moment.
comment: Examples: the spatiotemporal 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 spatiotemporal region [span:ConnectedSpatiotemporalRegion] that endures for more than a single moment of time.
comment: Examples: the spatiotemporal 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

example to be eventually removed
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification

failed exploratory term
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
definition editor: Person:Alan Ruttenberg
definition: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: term created to ease viewing/sort terms for development purpose, and will not be included in a release

ready for release
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: Class is being worked on; however, the metadata (including definition) are not complete or sufficiently clear to the branch editors.

uncurated
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: Nothing done yet beyond assigning a unique class ID and proposing a preferred term.

pending final vetting
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: Subset
definition: Core is an instance of a grouping of terms from an ontology or ontologies. It is used by the ontology to identify main classes.
definition editor: PERSON: Alan Ruttenberg
definition editor: PERSON: Melanie Courtot

placeholder removed
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification

terms merged
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor note: An editor note should explain what were the merged terms and the reason for the merge.

term imported
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor note: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor note: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: obsolescence reason specification
editor note: This is to be used if none of the existing instances cover the reason for obsolescence. An editor note should indicate this new reason.
editor note: We expect to be able to mine these new reasons and add instances as required.

universal
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
definition source: A Formal Theory of Substances, Qualities, and Universals, http://ontology.buffalo.edu/bfo/SQU.pdf
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
editor note: 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.

defined class
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
editor note: "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.
definition editor: A defined class is a class that is defined by a set of logically necessary and sufficient conditions but is not a universal
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg

named class expression
type: NamedIndividual
type: denotator type
definition: A named class expression is a logical expression that is given a name. The name can be used in place of the expression.
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
editor note: 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
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition: Terms with this status should eventually replaced with a term from another ontology.
definition source: group:OBI

requires discussion
type: NamedIndividual
type: curation status specification
definition: 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.
definition editor: Alan Ruttenberg
definition source: group:OBI