| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| metastasis |
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| SYLLABICATION: | me·tas·ta·sis |
| PRONUNCIATION: |  m -t s t -ss |
| NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. me·tas·ta·ses (-s z )
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. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Greek, from methistanai, to change : meta-, meta- + histanai, to cause to stand, place; see st - in Appendix I. | | OTHER FORMS: | meta·static (m t-sttk) —ADJECTIVE
meta·stati·cal·ly —ADVERB
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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