Knowledge-based client-server approach to structural information retrieval: the Digital Anatomist Browser

Structural information can be defined as data and knowledge about biological objects ranging in size from molecules to the whole body. A framework is described for organizing structural information around a well-defined set of terminology and semantic relationships, and for disseminating multimedia structural information by means of a wide-area information server that is accessible over the internet. A Macintosh-based client of this server, called the Digital Anatomist Browser, has been used to teach neuroanatomy for the last 2 years. The client-server approach provides each student unlimited access to a rapidly growing knowledge base of structural biology that, while immediately useful for anatomy teaching, has the potential to be an organizing framework for other kinds of medical knowledge as well.