carcin/o
cancer
From Greek karkinos, crab; later also a spreading sore, cancer
Meaning
What does carcin/o mean?
carcin/o is a root meaning cancer. It comes from Greek karkinos, crab; later also a spreading sore, cancer.
Inside words it is spelled carcin.
Carcin/o always means cancer, while onc/o means any tumor; a carcinoma is a cancer of epithelial tissue.
In real words
Medical words with carcin/o
a cancer that starts in glandular tissue, as most breast, colon and prostate cancers do
a cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs · In the dictionary
causing or likely to cause cancer
carcinogenesis
the process by which normal cells turn into cancer cells
a benign or malignant tumor arising mostly from the lining of the digestive tract
Don't mix it up
Parts easily confused with carcin/o
In the dictionary
More terms built with it
Terms in our life science dictionary that list carcin/o among their word parts.
Sources
Checked against
Written for biofideX in plain words, after checking these references:
- MedlinePlus: Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean
- 1.4 Common Word Roots and Combining Vowels – Medical Terminology 2e
- CARCIN- Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
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Cells, tissues and the body
carcin/o is one of 14 parts in this lesson. Learn them together, then take real words apart.
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