GALEN Common Reference Model

The GALEN Common Reference Model is the model of medical concepts (or clinical terminology) being built in GRAIL. This model forms the underlying structural foundation for the services provided by a GALEN Terminology Server.

Background
The GALEN Common Reference Model is written in the formal language GRAIL. The GRAIL statements in the model are equivalent with sentences like these:


 * Ulcer is a kind of inflammatory lesion
 * The process whose outcome is an ulcer is called ulceration
 * The stomach is a part of the GI tract
 * It is sensible to talk about ulcers located in the stomach
 * Ulcers located in the stomach are called Gastric Ulcers
 * Ulcers located in the stomach are actually located on the mucosa of the wall of the stomach

Availability
The GALEN Common Reference Model is available from the OpenGALEN Foundation as open source.