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Figure 2.1
Heart failure as specified in the ICD-10.
Source: ICD 10, 1: 494. |
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situations. Volume three is an index, a vital tool since diseases have multiple designators and so many paths into the classification system must be provided. The first volume is the largest. It is primarily a long list of numbers with names of diseases or modifying conditions. (An example is given in figure 2.1) |
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Reading the ICD is a lot like reading the telephone book. In fact, it is worse. The telephone book, especially the yellow pages, contains a more obvious degree of narrative structure. It tells how local businesses see themselves, how many restaurants of a given ethnicity there are in the locale, whether or not hot tubs or plastic surgeons are to be found there. (Yet most people don't curl up with a good telephone book of a Saturday night.) Aside from this direct information to be retrieved, an indirect reading can be instructive. A slim volume indicates a rural area. Those with only husband's names listed for married couples indicate a sexist society. The names of services may change |
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