Carcinoma

Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells. Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal or ectodermal germ layer during embryogenesis.

Not to be confused with carcinoid, which is sometimes a type of carcinoma but is more often benign.

Carcinoma
Micrograph of a lung primary small cell carcinoma, a type of carcinoma. The clustered cancerous cells consist primarily of nucleus (purple); they have only a scant rim of cytoplasm. The surrounding pale staining, discoid cells are red blood cells. Cytopathology specimen. Field stain.
SpecialtyOncology

Carcinomas occur when the DNA of a cell is damaged or altered and the cell begins to grow uncontrollably and becomes malignant. It is from the Greek: καρκίνωμα, romanized: karkinoma, lit. 'sore, ulcer, cancer' (itself derived from karkinos meaning crab).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.