Objective: Our goal was to develop a database to collect phenotype (diagnostic) information and make it computatable for data acquisition, analysis, and coordination of tissue sample archives.
Methods: The Mouse Disease Information System (MoDIS), was developed as a free Microsoft Access database (http://research.jax.org/faculty/sundberg/index.html).
Results: Linking the system to the Mouse Anatomy and Mouse Pathology Ontologies provides controlled vocabulary (and spelling) for organ, tissue, and diagnosis. Severity scores provide a quantitative assessment of all lesions to enable quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses for large scale studies. Individual diagnoses can be verified for their definition by online linkage to Pathbase (http://www.pathbase.net/). Histological images can be accessed from Pathbase using the Mouse Pathology Ontology (MPATH) directly for comparison to slides being viewed at the time of data entry providing the user with a reference and a “virtual second opinion.”
Conclusions: These public access databases are available for data storage but provide access to examples of images of many genetically engineered and spontaneous diseases for comparison to new discoveries to aid investigators in correctly interpreting their findings using laboratory mice.