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A rare neoplasm derived from the lining cells of the pleura and peritoneum which grows as a thick sheet covering the viscera, and is composed of spindle cells or fibrous tissue which may enclose glandlike spaces lined by cuboidal cells. [mesothelium + G. -oma, tumor]
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me·so·the·li·o·ma .mez-ə-.thē-lē-'ō-mə, .mēz-, .mēs-, .mes- n, pl -mas also -ma·ta -mət-ə a tumor derived from mesothelial tissue (as that lining the peritoneum or pleura)
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n.
a tumour of the pleura, peritoneum, or pericardium. The occurrence of pleural mesothelioma is often due to exposure to asbestos dust (see asbestosis), and workers in the asbestos industry who develop such tumours are entitled to industrial compensation. In other cases there is no history of direct exposure to asbestos at work, but the patients had been exposed to asbestos via the clothes of relatives who had had direct contact with asbestos, or they themselves had lived very close to an asbestos factory. There is no curative treatment for the disease, but moderately good results have occasionally been obtained from radical surgery for limited disease, from radiotherapy, and more recently from chemotherapy.
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meso·the·li·o·ma (mez″o-) (me″zo-the″le-oґmə) a tumor derived from mesothelial tissue (peritoneum, pleura, pericardium); both benign and malignant varieties exist. Malignant varieties are often the result of excessive exposure to asbestos.Medical dictionary. 2011.