Heuristic Approach to Curate Disease Taxonomy Beyond Nosology-Based Standards

Understanding naming conventions for strengthening the integrity of naming human diseases remains nominal rather than substantial in the medical community. Since the current nosology-based criteria for human diseases cannot provide a one-size-fits-all corrective mechanism, numerous idiomatic but erroneous names frequently appear in scientific literature and news outlets, at the cost of sociocultural repercussions. To mitigate such impacts, we examine the ethical oversight of current naming practices and introduce some ethical principles for formulating an improved naming scheme. Relatedly, we organize rich metadata to unveil the nosological evolution of anachronistic names and demonstrate the heuristic approaches to curate exclusive substitutes for inopportune nosology based on deep learning models and post-hoc explanations. Our findings indicate that the nosological evolution of anachronistic names may have societal consequences in the absence of a corrective mechanism. Arguably, as an exemplar, Rubella could serve as a destigmatized replacement for German measles. The illustrated rationales and approaches could provide hallmark references to the ethical introspection of naming practices and pertinent credit allocations.