Question

multiple choice question

if the ______ see appears after a main term, the coder must look up the term that follows the word see in the index.

eponym
main term
subterm
cross-reference

Explanation:

Identify the medical coding convention

The question asks to identify the term that fills in the blank: "If the _________ see appears after a main term, the coder must look up the term that follows the word see in the index."

In ICD-10-CM coding, instructions such as see and see also are used to direct the coder to another term in the Alphabetic Index. These instructions are known as cross-references.

Analyze the given options

• eponym: A disease, structure, or procedure named after a person.
• main term: The primary word used to locate a code in the Alphabetic Index.
• subterm: A word indented under a main term that provides more specificity.
• cross-reference: An instruction (like see) directing the coder to look elsewhere in the index.

Applying the ICD-10 Cross-Referencing concept, the word see is a mandatory cross-reference instruction.

Answer:

• eponym
• main term
• subterm
• cross-reference (Correct answer)