PEDIATRICS Vol. 23 No. 4 April 1959, pp. 761-765
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PUBLIC HEALTH, NURSING, AND MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK

INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION OF DISEASES

Myron E. Wegman M.D.

Every physician who has been through an internship is familiar with the Standard Nomenclature of Diseases and Operations. Far fewer know the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death or appreciate the relationship between the two. Official inauguration of the use of the Seventh Revision of the International Classification of Diseases on January 1, 1958 offers occasion for reviewing some of the considerations affecting the proper naming and classification of diseases and causes of death.

It is necessary to clarify the distinction between a "nomenclature" and a "classification." A nomenclature is a list of all terms considered satisfactory in medical usage at the time the nomenclature was prepared. Its primary purpose is to promote use of the same name for the same disease, a necessity for comparability of reports and effective study of a disease. To achieve such uniformity there must be some background of usage and custom, as well as a systematic reference work to help the physician arrive at and use the standard term as a final diagnosis for his case. The Standard Nomenclature of Diseases and Operations of the American Medical Association is in practically universal use in the major institutions of the U. S. A. The Nomenclature itself, while detailed and inevitably complicated by extent of coverage and inclusiveness, follows such a logical pattern that under the pressure of institutional rules and routines it is not difficult to use the system efficiently. Individual physicians, however, are not so disposed to spend the time necessary to follow the Nomenclature and tend rather to use the terminology popular in the geographic area where they are working. Development of local terminologies and usages is perhaps the greatest limiting factor militating against a really general nomenclature.