Description:
This thesis describes the implementation of an interface for querying established
correspondences between anatomical structures across species. I was the main
developer of this query engine, called the Comparative Anatomy Information
System. My work involved developing methods to query the knowledge base,
perform the specified comparison, display the anatomical hierarchies and results,
and implement features to make the application user-friendly. The comparisons are
based on the Structural Difference Method (SDM) for finding similarities and
differences, developed in previous work.
Since the CAIS knowledge base is sparsely populated, it has thus far been
difficult to conduct extensive user testing, but I include two usage scenarios
proposed by one of my mentors that outline some proposed uses of the application.
These scenarios reflect the need for a system like CAIS that communicates
anatomical correspondences to researchers who work on animal modeling of disease
with a background other than traditional comparative anatomy.