The combining form carcin(o) denotes which condition?

The combining form carcin(o) denotes which condition?

• A. Infection
• B. Cancer
• C. Tissue
• D. Disease

Answer: (B)

Combining forms point to the condition or area involved, and carcin/o specifically denotes cancer. It’s used to form terms like carcinoma, a cancerous tumor arising from epithelial cells, and carcinogenic, meaning capable of causing cancer. The root comes from Greek karkinos, “crab,” which influenced how cancer tumors were described. This form isn’t used for infection (that would be infect/o), tissue (hist/o), or disease in a general sense (which would use other roots like path/o). So the correct meaning is cancer.

Combining forms point to the condition or area involved, and carcin/o specifically denotes cancer. It’s used to form terms like carcinoma, a cancerous tumor arising from epithelial cells, and carcinogenic, meaning capable of causing cancer. The root comes from Greek karkinos, “crab,” which influenced how cancer tumors were described. This form isn’t used for infection (that would be infect/o), tissue (hist/o), or disease in a general sense (which would use other roots like path/o). So the correct meaning is cancer.