What is a subset or specific kind of?
Hepatocellular jaundice is a specific kind of jaundice. Myocardial infarction is NOT a specific kind of chest pain! The distinction between a ‘kind of’ and a ’causes’ relationship is that not only does ‘A’ feature ‘B’; but that it cannot possibly be otherwise e.g. any hepatocellular jaundice (however caused) must also ‘be’ a jaundice. In a Venn Diagram this would be represented by concentric circles. Example – microcytic red cells are a subset of abnormal red blood cells, which in turn is a subset of abnormal blood cells. Those familiar with description logic will recognise this as a generic hierarchical ‘is a’ relationship. These relationships can be more arbitrary and context dependent than one might wish. There are only a few such relationships in the Diseases Database.
