Detailed content and terminological properties of DSM-IV

DSM-IV, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is the internationally accepted standard for nomenclature and diagnosis in psychiatric practice. The objective of this project is to parse the rubric criteria of the DSM to extract the clinically detailed signs, symptoms, findings, and conditions that are present. These are a "latent terminology" implicit within the DSM, which is highly granular and clinically specific. This manuscript describes the content of these terms that heretofore existed sub rosa, though we recognize that during the authorship of the DSM such terms were constructed deliberately and systematically. Relevant characteristics of the classification system are briefly reviewed. Summary results of parsing the defining criteria for the 400 ICD-9 Codes enumerated in DSM-IV are presented.