SARCOMATA. 147 



!iow these tumours can ever have received the name of *• flesh- 

 tumours" (sarcoma from (rdp0. It is true that in common 

 parlance many things besides muscle are called flesh ; for 

 instance, granulations are commonly spoken of as ^' flesh v," 

 and if the name " sarcoma" were derived from this application 

 ■of the term, the comparison might be regarded as a very a})t 

 one, and that on more grounds than one. For the sarcomata 

 are the most interesting of ail histioid tumours, just because they 

 undoubtedly repeat that group of tissues with which we became 

 acquainted among the heteroplastic products of inflammation. 

 We meet once more with the round-celled embryonic tissue of 

 granulations, and with its lymphadenoid variety (caro luxurians)^ 

 with spindle-cell tissue, and the densely fibrous connective tissue 

 of cicatrices. As a rule, we find several of these tissues in 

 combination — combined however in such a way, that one of 

 them constitutes the main bulk of the growth, while the 

 others are present in smaller proportions. The tumour is 

 named after its chief constituent, a j^otiori fit denominatio. 

 Accordingly, we distinguish three main categories of sarco- 

 mata, sc, round-cell sarcomata, spindle-cell sarcomata, and 

 fibromata. 



The secondary constituents are never co-ordinate with the 

 principal tissue ; they are either preliminary stages in its de- 

 velopment, or products of its farther metamorphosis. These 

 metamorphoses occur in the same order as in formative intlam- 

 ination ; the round-celled tissue (granulation-tissue) stands first 

 in point of time ; it is converted into spindle-cell tissue, which 

 in its turn gives rise to fibrous tissue. We must not however 

 slmt our eyes to the fact that the series of possible evolutional 

 forms is not restricted to the histological products of formative 

 inflammation. Cartilage, bone, mucous and adipose tissue are 

 met with in sarcomata as results of their secondary metamor- 

 phosis. Of course they occur only as subordinate constituents, 

 and enable us to establish varieties ; the tumours in whicli they 

 predominate, or in which they exist alone, forming the farther 

 classes of the heteroplastic histioid growths, the myxomata, lipo- 

 mata, enchondromata and osteomata. This shows us the close 

 inter-connexion of all histioid tumours and helps us to unite tlicm 

 into a single group. 



The origin and growth of sarcomata vary for each species ; 



