Visual representation for knowledge representation: Graphics libraries to support anatomy terminologies and ontologies

Visual representations are crucial for communicating biomedical knowledge, particularly in the domain of anatomy. Methods for integrating standardized visual representations into knowledge representation schemes are largely unexplored, leaving users dependent upon textual descriptions or ad-hoc visuals. In this work we introduce SVG-based graphics libraries as a tool for standardizing visual representations of biomedical knowledge. We first present design requirements for graphics libraries and a scheme for implementing web-accessible libraries. Finally, we introduce a prototype application for managing and sharing a graphics library. This work uses a library for orofacial anatomy as a test case, but is applicable to any domain of biomedical knowledge that can benefit from visual representation.