myxoma

noun myx·o·ma \ mik-ˈsō-mə \

Definition of myxoma

plural myxomas also myxomata play \-mə-tə\

: a soft tumor made up of gelatinous connective tissue like that of the umbilical cord

—

myxomatous

play \-mə-təs\ adjective

Recent Examples of myxoma from the Web

An atrial myxoma is a rare non-cancerous tumor that grows on the heart and, if caught, can be easily removed.

— jenny mollen, Marie Claire, "Actress and Author Jenny Mollen Opens Up About Her Family's Scary Health Crisis," 17 July 2017
An atrial myxoma is a rare non-cancerous tumor that grows on the heart and, if caught, can be easily removed.

— jenny mollen, Marie Claire, "Actress and Author Jenny Mollen Opens Up About Her Family's Scary Health Crisis," 17 July 2017
Melyssa had a myxoma, a benign but extremely aggressive tumor.

— caroline picard, Good Housekeeping, "Surgeons Remove a Rare Tumor After Finding Toddler's Desperate Family Online," 25 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'myxoma.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of myxoma

borrowed from New Latin, from Greek mýxa "nasal discharge, slime" + New Latin -oma -oma — more at myxo-

Note: Term introduced by Rudolf Virchow in "Ein Fall von bösartigen, zum Theil in der Form des Neuroms auftretenden Fettgeschwülsten," Archiv für pathologische Anatomie und Physiologie und für klinische Medicin, Band 11 (1857), p. 287: "…im Anfange der Bildung konnte man sie als Schleimgeschwulst (Tumor mucosus, Myxoma) bezeichen." ("…in the early stages of formation one could designate it as a mucous tumor (tumor mucosus, myxoma.") Later in the same paper he uses the vernacular form Myxom.

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1870

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year