Carcinoma
| 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. | |
| Specialty | Oncology |
Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells.[1] 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[2] or ectodermal germ layer during embryogenesis.[3]
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).[4]
- ^ Kirkham N, Lemoine NR (2001). Progress in pathology. London: Greenwich Medical Media. p. 52. ISBN 9781841100500.
- ^ Weinberg RA (24 May 2013). The biology of cancer (Second ed.). New York. ISBN 9780815345282. OCLC 841051175.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Definition of Carcinoma". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, s.v.