Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times
In Graeco-Roman times all tumours (Greek: onkoi, abnormal swellings) were considered to be of inflammatory origin, the result of unfavourable humoural fluxes, and caused by an extravascular outpouring of fluid into tissue spaces. The neoplastic nature of tumours is a more recent concept, barely two...
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University of the Free State
2005-06-01
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Series: | Acta Theologica |
Online Access: | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2090 |
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author | Francois P. Retief Louise Cilliers |
author_facet | Francois P. Retief Louise Cilliers |
author_sort | Francois P. Retief |
collection | DOAJ |
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In Graeco-Roman times all tumours (Greek: onkoi, abnormal swellings) were considered to be of inflammatory origin, the result of unfavourable humoural fluxes, and caused by an extravascular outpouring of fluid into tissue spaces. The neoplastic nature of tumours is a more recent concept, barely two centuries old. In Hippocratic literature tumours were mainly classified as karkinômata, phumata and oidêmata. Phumata included a large variety of tumours, inflammatory and neoplastic in origin, and mostly benign (in modern terms), whilst oidêmata were soft, painless tumours and even included generalised oedema (dropsy). Although all categories possibly included occasional cancers, the vast majority of what appears to have been malignant tumours were called karkinoi/karkinômata (Latin: cancrum/carcinoma). There was however no recognition of benign and malignant, or primary and secondary tumours, in the modern sense.
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format | Article |
id | doaj-art-6d9f8f390e404dbb9342830fe35eecc4 |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 1015-8758 2309-9089 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2005-06-01 |
publisher | University of the Free State |
record_format | Article |
series | Acta Theologica |
spelling | doaj-art-6d9f8f390e404dbb9342830fe35eecc42025-02-11T12:14:51ZengUniversity of the Free StateActa Theologica1015-87582309-90892005-06-01710.38140/at.v0i7.2090Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman timesFrancois P. Retief0Louise Cilliers1University of the Free StateUniversity of the Free State In Graeco-Roman times all tumours (Greek: onkoi, abnormal swellings) were considered to be of inflammatory origin, the result of unfavourable humoural fluxes, and caused by an extravascular outpouring of fluid into tissue spaces. The neoplastic nature of tumours is a more recent concept, barely two centuries old. In Hippocratic literature tumours were mainly classified as karkinômata, phumata and oidêmata. Phumata included a large variety of tumours, inflammatory and neoplastic in origin, and mostly benign (in modern terms), whilst oidêmata were soft, painless tumours and even included generalised oedema (dropsy). Although all categories possibly included occasional cancers, the vast majority of what appears to have been malignant tumours were called karkinoi/karkinômata (Latin: cancrum/carcinoma). There was however no recognition of benign and malignant, or primary and secondary tumours, in the modern sense. https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2090 |
spellingShingle | Francois P. Retief Louise Cilliers Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times Acta Theologica |
title | Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times |
title_full | Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times |
title_fullStr | Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times |
title_full_unstemmed | Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times |
title_short | Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times |
title_sort | tumours and cancers in graeco roman times |
url | https://journals.ufs.ac.za/index.php/at/article/view/2090 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT francoispretief tumoursandcancersingraecoromantimes AT louisecilliers tumoursandcancersingraecoromantimes |