Representation of terms in OBO and FHIR XML

In this example, we show how the HPO term for Decreased circulating IgG4 level is represented in OBO and in FHIR XML format.

OBO

The Open Biological and Biomedical Ontology (OBO) format is a simple format originally designed to make it easier for biologists to author ontologies. The HPO is natively authored in the more sophisticated OWL format, but is available in OBO and JSON formats as well.

[Term]
id: HP:0032138
name: Decreased circulating IgG4 level
def: "A reduction in immunoglobulin levels of the IgG4 subclass in the blood circulation." [PMID:26929632]
synonym: "Decreased IgG4 level in blood" EXACT []
is_a: HP:0032135 ! Decreased circulating IgG subclass level
property_value: http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/date 2018-11-22T14:29:39Z xsd:dateTime
created_by: peter

This stanza specifies the identifier (HP:0032138), the name, i.e., label (Decreased circulating IgG4 level), the definition, a synonym, and the parent (HP:0032135 ! Decreased circulating IgG subclass level).

The term is represented as follows in the FHIR XML.

<concept>
  <code value="HP:0032138"></code>
  <display value="Decreased circulating IgG4 level"></display>
  <definition value="A reduction in immunoglobulin levels of the IgG4 subclass
            in the blood circulation."></definition>
  <property>
     <code value="parent"></code>
     <valueCode value="HP:0032135"></valueCode>
  </property>
</concept>

The synonym is represented using the desgination element with reference to the SNOMED CT code for Synonym. In general, a list of synonyms may be used.

The parentage is represented by a property element. In general, a term may have more than one parent, in which case multiple property elements are used.