This suffix means "tumor" or "lump." It typically, but not invariably, refers to a NEOPLASM ("GRANULOMA" is an exception). In referring to neoplasms, benign ones are typically referred to by a word, the prefix of which refers to the organ or tissue of origin, followed by the suffix "-oma." For example, leiomyoma, osteoma, chondroma, adenoma, and hemangioma, refer to benign neoplasms of smooth muscle, bone, cartilage, glandular tissue, and blood vessel tissue, respectively. The analogous terms for malignant versions of these neoplasms are, leiomyoSARCOMA, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, adenoCARCINOMA, and angiosarcoma.There are exceptions to these vocabulary rules. For instance, hepatomas and melanomas are all malignant. Other tumors, such as those of the adrenal glands, cannot be classified into benign or malignant categories based on pathologic appearance. Only their behavior in time shows their true colors. An example is pheochromocytoma (a tumor of the adrenal medulla), ten per cent of which are malignant, but we don't know just by looking at the tumor if a given case will fall into that ten per cent.