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metastatic

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me⋅tas⋅ta⋅sis

[muh-tas-tuh-sis]
–noun, plural -ses [-seez] .
1. Pathology.
a. 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.
b. the condition produced by this.
2. transformation (def. 3).
3. Rhetoric. a rapid transition, as from one subject to another.
4. Physics. a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle.

Origin:
1580–90; < Gk metástasis a changing. See meta-, stasis


met⋅a⋅stat⋅ic [met-uh-stat-ik] , adjective
met⋅a⋅stat⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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me·tas·ta·sis   (mĭ-tās'tə-sĭs)   
n.   pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-sēz')
  1. Pathology Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms or cancerous cells from an original site to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, usually by way of the blood vessels or lymphatics.

  2. A secondary cancerous growth formed by transmission of cancerous cells from a primary growth located elsewhere in the body.


[Greek, from methistanai, to change : meta-, meta- + histanai, to cause to stand, place; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]
met'a·stat'ic (mět'ə-stāt'ĭk) adj., met'a·stat'i·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

metastasis 
1577, from Gk. metastasis "transference, removal, change," from methistanai "to remove, change," from meta- "over, across" (see meta-) + histanai "to place, cause to stand," from PIE base *sta- "to stand" (see stet). A rhetorical term in L.L. for "a sudden transition in subjects," medical use for "shift of disease from one part of the body to another" dates from 1663 in Eng. Metastasize formed 1907.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: me·tas·ta·sis
Pronunciation: m&-'tas-t&-s&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural me·tas·ta·ses /-"sEz/
: change of position, state, or form: as a : transfer of a disease-producing agency (as cancer cells orbacteria) from an original site of disease to another part of the body with development of a similar lesion in the new location <metastasis in the lung usually occurs by way of the bloodstream —J. B. Amberson> <metastases of breast cancer to bone —Medical Physics> b : a secondary metastatic growth of a malignant tumor

Main Entry: met·a·sta·tic
Pronunciation: "met-&-'stat-ik
Function: adjective
1 : of, relating to, or caused by metastasismetastatic disease as the first sign of lung cancer>
2 : tending to metastasize metastatic thanothers —J. L. Marx> —met·a·stat·i·cal·ly /-i-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

metastasis me·tas·ta·sis (mə-tās'tə-sĭs)
n. pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-sēz')

  1. Transmission of pathogenic microorganisms or cancerous cells from an original site to one or more sites elsewhere in the body, usually by way of the blood vessels or lymphatics.

  2. A secondary cancerous growth formed by transmission of cancerous cells from a primary growth located elsewhere in the body.


met'a·stat'ic (mět'ə-stāt'ĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
metastasis   (mə-tās'tə-sĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.

metastasize verb
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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