cyst
Other forms: cysts
A cyst is a small growth that forms in the body. That squishy, fluid-filled mass on your calf could be a cyst.
The word cyst entered English in the 18th century by way of the Latin word cystis, tracing all the way back to the Greek word kustis, meaning “bladder.” Like your bladder, a cyst is sort of like a small pouch, one that’s typically filled with liquid. Unlike the bladder, however, a cyst is closed, meaning the liquid can’t get out. A cyst is often an abnormal formation in the body, so doctors often remove them.
Definitions of cyst
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a small anatomically normal sac or bladderlike structure (especially one containing fluid)
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synonyms:
vesicle
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types:
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dacryocyst, lacrimal sac, tear sac
either of the two dilated ends of the lacrimal ducts at the nasal ends of the eyes that fill with tears secreted by the lacrimal glands
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Golgi apparatus, Golgi body, Golgi complex, dictyosome
a netlike structure in the cytoplasm of animal cells (especially in those cells that produce secretions)
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bleb, blister, bulla
(pathology) an elevation of the skin filled with serous fluid
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follicle
any small spherical group of cells containing a cavity
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liposome
an artificially made microscopic vesicle into which nucleic acids can be packaged; used in molecular biology as a transducing vector
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hair follicle
a small tubular cavity containing the root of a hair; small muscles and sebaceous glands are associated with them
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Graafian follicle
a vascular body in a mammalian ovary enclosing a developing egg
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water blister
blister containing a nonpurulent clear watery content
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blood blister
blister containing blood or bloody serum usually caused by an injury
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pustule
a small inflamed elevation of skin containing pus; a blister filled with pus
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type of:
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sac
a structure resembling a bag in an animal
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a closed sac that develops abnormally in some body structure
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types:
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dermoid cyst
a cystic tumor (usually benign) with a wall lined with epithelium and a cavity containing other material
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galactocele
a cystic tumor containing milk or a milky substance (especially in the mammary glands)
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blood cyst, hematocyst, hemorrhagic cyst
a cyst containing blood
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hydatid
cyst filled with liquid; forms as a result of infestation by tapeworm larvae (as in echinococcosis)
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nabothian cyst, nabothian follicle
a cyst that forms in the nabothian glands of the uterine cervix
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ovarian cyst
a cystic tumor (usually benign) of the ovary
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ranula
a cyst on the underside of the tongue
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pilar cyst, sebaceous cyst, steatocystoma, wen
a common cyst of the skin; filled with fatty matter (sebum) that is secreted by a sebaceous gland that has been blocked
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Meibomian cyst, chalazion
a small sebaceous cyst of the eyelid resulting when a Meibomian gland is blocked
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cephalhematoma, cephalohematoma
a collection of blood under the scalp of a newborn; caused by pressure during birth
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type of:
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pathology
any deviation from a healthy or normal condition
Pronunciation
US
/sɪst/
UK
/sɪst/
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