EXPERIENCE ON A SURGICAL PATHOLOGY DATABASE AND A LEXICON COMPILED FROM LOCALLY DERIVED MEDICAL ENGLISH.

The Pathology On-Line Logging and Reporting System (POLARS) and the Pathology Information Retrieval System (PAIRS) form an integrated system for the processing of data to and from an anatomical pathology laboratory. The database consists of fixed and variable length narrative data. The contents include path accession number, hospital unit number, demographic information, narrative text of the operative procedures, clinical abstract, and pathological diagnosis. Narrative data supply words to a dynamic LEXICON containing 25,000 medical and ordinary words (including misspellings) used locally. Each word of the LEXICON was coded to initiate several routes of action which determines the utilization of the respective word for retrievals. Natural language retrieval by diagnosis are accomplished off-line through a keyword rotation microfiche catalog and on-line via database access system. The database comprises 25,000 reports on 8000 patients.