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  Structure & Format | Topography List | Morphology List | Numerical List Format | Alphabetical Index |
  Meaning of "NOS" | Hematological Malignancies | Using Lymphoma & Leukemia Sections | Unit Review and Quiz |

Structure and Format of ICD-O, Third Edition :
Unit Review and Quiz

 

Unit Review

Here is what we have learned from this unit:
  • ICD-O is a dual classification with coding systems for both topography and morphology.
  • In ICD-O, the topography code describes the site of origin of the neoplasm, and the morphology code describes the cell type of the tumor and its biologic activity.
  • ICD-O consists of five main sections:

    1. Instructions for Use
    2. Topography-Numerical List
    3. Morphology-Numerical List
    4. Alphabetic Index
    5. Differences in Morphology Codes between ICD-O-3 and ICD-O-2

  • The topography section has been adapted from the malignant neoplasm section of Chapter II of ICD-10.
  • ICD-O topography terms have four-character codes that run from C00.0 to C80.9. A decimal point (.) separates subdivisions of the three-character categories.
  • Each topographic and morphologic term appears only once in the numerical list, and the first listed term, printed in bold type under a particular code, is the preferred term.
  • Morphology terms have five-digit codes ranging from M-8000/0 to M-9989/3 with the first four digits indicating the specific histologic term and the fifth digit used as a behavior code.
  • Following the behavior code, a separate one-digit code is provided for histological grading or differentiation.
  • The alphabetic index is used to code topography and morphology, which also includes selected tumor-like lesions and conditions.
  • The terms are listed under both the noun and the adjective in the alphabetic index.
  • In the alphabetic index, any word that appears as part of three or more terms is in bold type.
  • Lymphomas and leukemias are exceptions to the rule of listing conditions under all parts of the terms; There is only one list for "lymphoma, malignant" and one for "leukemia."
  • ICD-O-3 incorporates terms from the WHO systems as preferred terms for hematologic malignancies, but terms from older systems are retained to permit universal coding and analysis of historical data.
  • In order to ensure compatibility with ICD-10, there are a number of ways in which the Third Edition of ICD-O difers from the structure of the WHO classification of hematological malignancies.
  • The code for a term followed by "NOS" should be used when:

    1. a topographic or morphologic term is not modified;
    2. a topographic or morphologic term has an adjective that does not appear elsewhere; and
    3. a term is used in a general sense.

Quiz

It's time to see how much you have learned from this unit. A multiple choice type of quiz has been created to give you an opportunity to reinforce what you have learned.

Since the quiz is created as an incentive for learning, rather than an objective evaluation of learning results, the score of the quiz will not be recorded. Instead, feedback to your answer is provided instantaneously. So, you may select another choice if your first choice is not the correct one.

These quiz questions are grouped into several sets of two questions each to reduce the size of the content on each page. When you finish the questions in one set, click the Next button (a right-pointing arrow icon located in the Title Bar) to proceed to the next page.

Please click here to take the quiz.

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