River Flow Model of Diseases

This article discusses the ontological treatment of diseases in the framework of the Ontology for General Medical Science (OGMS). We aim to provide a definition of a disease that is more friendly to clinicians and propose a corresponding model of diseases. We define a disease as a dependent continuant constituted of one or more causal chains of clinical disorders. To clarify the ontological meaning of causal chains, we introduce two kinds of processes: a cumulative continuous process and a non-cumulative process. They are accounted for based on a new ontological theory of objects and processes. We then introduce the core ideas of a disease as causal chain and of clinical imbalance. We believe that the result can be considered as a concretization of the OGMS view of disease as disposition.