Besides being classified according to their behavior, neoplasms can also be classified according to the tissue from which they arose, and they are usually designated by a tissue-type prefix. A general system of tnonmenclature has als arisen to distinguish benign and malignant neoplasms. The designation of the benign neoplasm usually is signified by the suffix-oma added to the appropriate tissue type prefix. Malignant neoplasms are separated into two general classes. Cancers arising from such supportive tissues as muscle, bone and fat are termed sarcomas. Cancers arising from such epithelial tissues as the skin and lining the mouth, stomach, bowel, or bladder are classified as carcinomas. Examples of benign neoplasms are a lipoma (from fat tissue) and an osteoma (from bone). Malignant counterparts of these neoplasms are a liposrcoma and an osteosarcoma. The term adenoma is used to indicate a benign neoplasm of glandular tissue, and corresponding malignancies are termed adenocarcinomas.
Exceptions to this form of nomenclature include thymomas, which are either malignant or bengnneoplasms of the thymus gland, and such descriptive terms os dermoid, a benign tumor of the ovary. The suffix-blatoma denotes a primitive, usually malignant, neoplasm.…
