mass
Meaning of mass: A mass is simply a lump identified in the body, a descriptive finding rather than a diagnosis, since it may prove benign, malignant, or unrelated to cancer entirely.
Definition of mass
Mass describes a lump or area of abnormal tissue found somewhere in the body, whether detected on physical examination, felt by a patient, or seen on an imaging study. The word mass is purely descriptive and does not by itself indicate what the lump actually is.
A mass can result from many different causes, including an abnormal overgrowth of cells, a fluid filled cyst, hormonal changes affecting a particular tissue, an area of inflammation, or an immune reaction, and a mass may be benign or malignant.
Because the word mass says nothing on its own about cause, further evaluation, such as imaging, laboratory testing, or biopsy, is typically needed to determine what a particular mass represents, and this evaluation, not the discovery of the mass alone, is what determines whether any further action is needed.
Used in a sentence
Imaging identified a mass in the abdomen that required further evaluation to determine its cause.
Good to know
The word mass is a descriptive term rather than a diagnosis, and a mass identified on examination or imaging requires further evaluation before its nature, benign or malignant, can be determined.