metastasis
Pathology.
the transference of disease-producing organisms or of malignant or cancerous cells to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.
the condition produced by this.
Rhetoric. a rapid transition, as from one subject to another.
Physics. a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle.
Origin of metastasis
1Other words from metastasis
- met·a·stat·ic [met-uh-stat-ik], /ˌmɛt əˈstæt ɪk/, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use metastasis in a sentence
For one thing, liver metastases probably mean the cancer is elsewhere, too, such as in the bones or brain.
Although these tumours have been known to give rise to metastases, they are, as a rule, innocent and are to be treated as such.
Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander MilesThe neighbouring lymph glands are infected early, but metastases to other organs are not common.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition. | Alexander MilesAfter such free removal these tumours show little tendency to recur and metastases are rare.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition. | Alexander MilesMedullary carcinoma is more frequently accompanied by metastases than the other forms.
Cancerous metastases are produced by the transportation of cancerous elements by the lymphatic current or by the blood-current.
British Dictionary definitions for metastasis
/ (mɪˈtæstəsɪs) /
pathol the spreading of a disease, esp cancer cells, from one part of the body to another
a transformation or change, as in rhetoric, from one point to another
a rare word for metabolism
Origin of metastasis
1Derived forms of metastasis
- metastatic (ˌmɛtəˈstætɪk), adjective
- metastatically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for metastasis
[ mə-tăs′tə-sĭs ]
A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.
Other words from metastasis
- metastasize verb
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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