This browser does not support visualization of term relationships on the Disease Ontology website

Please use Chrome, Safari or Firefox when using the Disease Ontology website to unlock visualization capabaility

Close notification overlay

Home > About > FAQ

FAQ


What is the Disease Ontology browser website?

The Disease Ontology browser is a web application that allows for exploration of the Disease Ontology. It allows for full text searching over the whole ontology, advanced searches for: disease name, synonym, definition, subset, DOID, alternative ID, Xrefs (disease vocabulary cross references), as well as visualization of relations between nodes.

How often is the Disease Ontology updated?

The Disease Ontology OBO and OWL files are updated (in DO's GitHub GitHub) daily, as a formal data release monthly.

How can I search the DO via an API?

To search for DO metadata via our API, use the URL https://www.disease-ontology.org/api/metadata/.
Example: https://www.disease-ontology.org/api/metadata/DOID:4

How can I navigate directly to a DO term via a url?

Add an 'id' query with a DO identifier (DOID) to the website URL.
Example: https://www.disease-ontology.org/?id=DOID:9256

How can I search for more than one disease property?

In the Advanced Search box, you can include multiple search terms to create a complex query, by clicking on "Add New Field" and specifying your Boolean query (AND, OR, NOT) from the Advanced Search menu.

The DO produces both OBO and OWL files, where are the files described?

The DO files are documented in DO's GitHub in README_DO_Files.

Where can I download the DO's OBO and OWL files?

The most up to date DO files can be downloaded from DO's GitHub repository, in the src/ontology directory.

Where can I submit a question or term request?

New terms, definitions, suggestions and questions regard the Disease Ontology can be submitted to the DO Term Tracker.

Where can I review relevant disease terminology?

The Disease Ontology is designed around clinical terminology. The DO team has prepared a glossary of clinical terms to clarify difficult concepts.

How is the DO connected to BFO and OGMS?

When BFO was developed, a decade after the DO was created, the biomedical ontology community discussed how to connect the DO and other ontologies that pre-date BFO, e.g. Gene Ontology (GO), with it. We determined that single domain ontologies (DO is only diseases) are interoperable with BFO and that diseases would be treated as BFO dispositions. Thus, DO's 'disease' (DOID:4) should be considered a subclass of BFO’s ‘disposition’ (BFO:0000016).

When OGMS was created, they utilized DO’s ‘disease’ (DOID:4) to make an equivalent OGMS ‘Disease’ term (OGMS:0000031).