teratoma
noun
ter·a·to·ma ˌter-ə-ˈtō-mə 
plural teratomas also teratomata ˌter-ə-ˈtō-mə-tə
: a tumor made up of a heterogeneous mixture of tissues
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The baseball-sized teratoma, an uncontrolled growth of skin, muscle, bone, and other tissues, obscured the baby’s neck and jaw line. 
Christopher Hartnick, STAT, 1 Sep. 2022 But the results include some frightening growths, called teratomas, that are rare among human fetuses: about 1 in 30,000 babies is born with a teratoma. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2022 In an advance reported in the New York Times in 1979, Dr. Mintz showed that the cells of a particular kind of tumor, called a teratoma, could be inserted into a normal blastocyst, or early embryo, of a mouse. Emily Langer, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022 While Wan takes wild liberties with medical facts for his film, the director reveals that real-life teratoma cases did inspire the movie, whose story is credited to Wan; his wife, Ingrid Bisu; and Malignant screenwriter Akela Cooper. Clark Collis, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2021 The teratoma was surgically removed and sent for testing. Sarah Lemire, Health.com, 25 June 2021 Despite the severe immune reaction that can accompany a teratoma, the tumors are typically benign. Sarah Lemire, Health.com, 25 June 2021 Dermoid cysts are the non-cancerous form of a type of tumor called a teratoma, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 15 Jan. 2019 LynLee suffered from a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a tumor that develops in utero and grows from the baby's tailbone. Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, 21 Oct. 2016 See More
Christopher Hartnick, STAT, 1 Sep. 2022 But the results include some frightening growths, called teratomas, that are rare among human fetuses: about 1 in 30,000 babies is born with a teratoma. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 26 Jan. 2022 In an advance reported in the New York Times in 1979, Dr. Mintz showed that the cells of a particular kind of tumor, called a teratoma, could be inserted into a normal blastocyst, or early embryo, of a mouse. Emily Langer, Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2022 While Wan takes wild liberties with medical facts for his film, the director reveals that real-life teratoma cases did inspire the movie, whose story is credited to Wan; his wife, Ingrid Bisu; and Malignant screenwriter Akela Cooper. Clark Collis, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2021 The teratoma was surgically removed and sent for testing. Sarah Lemire, Health.com, 25 June 2021 Despite the severe immune reaction that can accompany a teratoma, the tumors are typically benign. Sarah Lemire, Health.com, 25 June 2021 Dermoid cysts are the non-cancerous form of a type of tumor called a teratoma, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 15 Jan. 2019 LynLee suffered from a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a tumor that develops in utero and grows from the baby's tailbone. Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, 21 Oct. 2016 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Teratom, from Greek terat-, téras "sign sent by the gods, portent, marvel, monster" + German -om -oma — more at terato-
Note: Term probably introduced by the German pathologist Rudolf virchow, no later than 1866, when it appears in the article "Ein tiefes auriculares Dermoid des Halses," Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin (Virchows Archiv), Band 53, p. 210.
First Known Use
1879, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
teratoma
noun
ter·a·to·ma ˌter-ə-ˈtō-mə
plural teratomas also teratomata -mət-ə
: a tumor derived from more than one embryonic layer and made up of a heterogeneous mixture of tissues (as epithelium, bone, cartilage, or muscle)