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Sub-location
What is a sub-location?
General description
- A sub-location further divides and describes a locus.
- Loci, sub-locations, and laterality are often combined in a complex way. Please use the Locus and sub-location recipe to deal with these.
- A sub-location describes sub-areas, opposites, and negative areas.
- For example,
- "lower back": "lower" modifies "back"
- "extra pelvic disease": "extra" modifies "pelvic"
- Anatomical locations with no clear boundary will be annotated using this signal.
- For example,
- "the lower part of the right femur"
- "lower part" will not be annotated as a sub-location related to "femur".
- For example,
- "chest x-ray showed left lower lobe infection"
- "lower lobe" refers to a sub-location, and will be annotated
For every sub-location, annotate a modifier relation
- For every sub-location signal, at least one modifier relation must also be annotated, relating it to the associated locus.
Examples of sub-location words and stock phrases
- Sub-location words are not always obvious "area" words. All sort of metaphors and analogies are used when describing location.
- For example,
- "head of the pancreas"
- "head" should be marked as a sub-location
- "Cardiomediastinal contour "
- "contour" is a sub-location
- "lower pole of the thyroid"
- "lower pole" is a sub-location
- Other sub-location words refer to the association of one structure with another.
- For example,
- "common iliac node"
- "common" is referring to the location of the iliac node near to the common iliac vein, and should be annotated as a sub-location
- Other stock phrases that may provide sub-location signals include:
- upper
- outer
- inner
- top
- bottom
- high (e.g. high small bowel)
- deep
- superficial
- lobe
- quadrant
- pole
- contour
- angle
- common
- medial
- lateral
- proximal
- distal
- midline
- median
What is not a sub-location?
Sub-location should be used to annotate general language division and area words. It should not be used to annotate other anatomical terms that are qualifying a locus.
- For example,
- "abdominal aorta"
- "abdominal" is clearly an anatomical term.
- It should not be annotated as a sub-location.
- For example
- "hepatic parenchyma"
- "hepatic" is clearly an anatomical term, as is "parenchyma".
- Neither should be annotated as a sub-location
- For example
- "pulmonary parenchymal metastases"
- Both "pulmonary" and "parenchymal" are anatmical terms
- Neither should be annotated as a sub-location
- In these cases, the entire phrase should be annotated as a Locus, as described in the Locus guidelines.
Sub-locations in complex terms
- Loci, sub-locations, and laterality are often combined in a complex way. Please use the Locus and sub-location recipe to deal with these.
- Where more than a single word signals a sub-location, all words will be annotated.
- For example, in "the upper part of his arm", "upper part" will be annotated
- For example, in "the lower region of his abdomen", "lower region" will be annotated
- Sometimes, complex chains of locations are used to modify each other. The annotation needs to mark each separate component, using laterality and sub-location signals where appropriate.
- For example,
- Right lobe of the lower pole of the thyroid
- "Right" should be annotated as a laterality of "thyroid"
- "lobe of the lower pole" should be annotated as a sub-location of "thyroid"
- Right upper quadrant of the abdomen
- "Right" should be annotated as a laterality of "abdomen"
- "upper quadrant" should be annotated as a sub-location of "abdomen"