metastasis
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)metastases
- the spreading of a disease (especially cancer) to another part of the bodyType of pathologic process, pathological process
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: L., transition, fr. Gr. …, fr. … to place in another way; … after + … to place.
1. Theology A spiritual change, as during baptism.
2. Medicine A change in the location of a disease, as from one part to another. Dunglison, Robley
3. Especially: The migration of cancerous or malignant cells from the site of their origin to other parts of the body. Such cells may migrate to multiple new locations, making therapy more difficult and often leading to death.
4. Physiology The act or process by which matter is taken up by cells or tissues and is transformed into other matter; in plants, the act or process by which are produced all of those chemical changes in the constituents of the plant which are not accompanied by a production of organic matter; metabolism.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: GCIDE editors