What is the connection between malignant neoplasms and crabs?

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The more common term for malignant neoplasms, cancer, is Latin for crab, and the word "carcinogen," meaning a cancer-causing agent, comes from the Greek word for crab, "karkinos." What is the connection between these two seemingly unrelated things?
Cancer, both the disease and the astronomical constellation, derive from the Latin cancer or cancrum, meaning crab. The astrological sign, of course, is said to resemble a crab and the disease was so named by the ancient Greek physician Galen (129-200 A.D.) who noted the similarity between a certain type of tumor with a crab as well—the swollen veins around the tumor resembling the legs of a crab.

Old English adopted cancer directly from Latin and used it for a variety of spreading sores and ulcers. This early sense survives in the modern word canker. From c.1000 in a manuscript called Læce Boc (Leech Book), collected in Oswald Cockayne’s Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England, Vol. II, 1865:

Gemeng wið þam dustum, clæm on ðone cancer.
(Mix with the dust, smear on the cancer.)

And from Wyclif’s 2 Timothy, 1382:

The word of hem crepith as a kankir

The word was being applied specifically to the disease we today call cancer by the beginning of the 17th century. From Philemon Holland’s translation of Pliny’s Historie of the World:

Cancer is a swelling or sore comming of melancholy bloud, about which the veins appeare of a blacke or swert colour, spread in manner of a Creifish clees.

The astronomical sense of cancer is from the Latin name for the constellation of the crab. The name was known to the Anglo-Saxons, but only as a Latin name and was not assimilated into English until the Middle English period. It appears in Ælfric’s De Temporibus Anni, written c.993, in a list of the constellations of the Zodiac:

Feorða • Cancer • þæt is Crabba
(Fourth, Cancer, that is the crab.)

The Anglicized name appears c.1391 in Chaucer’s Treatise on the Astrolabe:

In this heved of cancer is the grettist declinacioun northward of the sonne...this signe of cancre is clepid the tropik of Somer.
(At this first point (head) of cancer is the greatest declination northward of the sun…this sign of cancer is named the tropic of summer.)

(Source: Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Edition)  (+ info)

how can i get pain releif from scar tissue?

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i am a 64 year old male , and i had laryngectomy surgery 6 years ago, i constantly suffer pain at the site of the surgery, probably due to scar tissue pressing on the nerves, can it be removed or is there any other therapy?
yes, it can be removed.
Call your doctor.
In the meantime, go to your pharmacy and get a topical treatment for the pain. They at least take the edge off.
Good luck!  (+ info)

Does anyone know any treatment for releasing scar tissue after back surgery?

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My husband had two successful herniated disc surgeries (on two different discs). A few months after the last surgery, his sciatic nerve started hurting again and he lost flexibility. His doctors have given up, but I haven't. Any ideas??
"Check the scar for the area that is most hard or tender. With a hold on opposing sides of the scar, slowly conterstrain and release the scar tissue. Reverse the direction of counterstrain and again release the scar. Cover the entire scar in this manner. Apply constant pressure at an angle into the scar that gives the most discomfort, hold and release."

I am a massage therapist / neuromuscular therapist for 5 years now and we do a lot with scar tissue. This is just a quote out of the manual that we were given as students.

Basicly what this is saying is find the area that causes the discomfort and apply traction (generally by using your thumbs or the palms of your hand) in the from the midline (midline being the scar) outwards. You can go along the scar line and do the same. You want to hold your traction for a minimum of 3 minutes. The more adhesions, the longer you will work. Just make sure that the Scar is fully healed over.

You can also talk to a Massage Therapist in your area that knows Myofascial release/Scar Release because that is what they will be working on.

You can find one in your area by looking at this webpage.

http://www.amtamassage.org/findamassage/locator.htm

Under Advance Search, look up in your area one that does Neuromuscular Therapy and ask them if they know how to do Myofascial Release or Soft Tissue Mobilization.

If releasing the Scar does not fix your husband's Sciatica, you may want to talk to the Massage Therapist on seeing if it is something muscular causing the problem. If you want more information on this email me and I will gladly help you out in any way I can.

Good luck!  (+ info)

I had a breast reduction 8 years ago and i was told that since so much tissue and nerves?

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were removed that i most likely won't be able to nurse if i have another child. Have any of you had this done and were still able to nurse? Did your breasts have the same soreness and leaking during pregnancy?
You may still be able to breastfeed.

Check out http://www.bfar.org  (+ info)

What is scar tissue and what causes a person to get scar tissue in their shoulder?

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I was told today that I have scar tissue in my shoulder. I have had no major injury to my shoulder.
When you loose or gain some weight, this usually happens. This happened to me on my knees when I lost weight.  (+ info)

What do you think the lung tissue of a smoker looks like in comparison to a healthy lung tissue?

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What do you think the lung tissue of a smoker looks like in comparison to a healthy lung tissue?
Normal lungs are pink and inflate/collapse normally. It might feel like a soft sponge. In an early smoker without COPD, the lungs will develop a grayish-black discoloration due to tar and soot deposits. With continued smoking, the lung will begin to scar (fibrose), and the lung architecture will become distorted. The lung may take on a rice-krispies-like texture. In severe emphysema, long-term fibrosis may lead to large air pocket formation (bullae), which can expand over time.  (+ info)

What causes scar tissue to hurt 4 years after the surgery?

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I had an appendectomy 4 years ago and from time to time the tissue is VERY painful! Others it's merely unnoticeable and I forget the thing even exists. Any suggestions on what causes it and how I can make it stop?
It could be nerve damage, which is causing your pain. I would seek the advice of your physician.  (+ info)

How much toilet tissue can you expect an office with 10 women to use working 8-5, M-F, per week?

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My company has several office locations. One office with fewer women than any of the others uses twice the amount of tissue. Is it being used? Is it being stolen? How can a rational determination be made?
The calculation for 2ply toilet paper is one roll per woman per five day week. If you are using a cheaper 1ply then it goes up in number. But one normal size roll of 2ply per five days would be normal.  (+ info)

Is it normal to pass thick tissue and blood clots during your first period after a vaginal delivery?

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I just started my period for the first time since giving birth 9 weeks ago. I noticed that I am passing some sort of thick tissue and nickel size around clots. My OB office is already closed for the day and I was wondering if any other women have passed tissue and clots during their first period after delivery and if this is normal or not.

Thanks for any help you might have!
It's normal. I had the same thing happen to me after my baby. Just as long as it isn't an overly excessive amount there isn't anything to worry about. After all, there was quite a bit if trauma going on down there with the birth.  (+ info)

How can I get rid of scar tissue around a piercing?

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I have my cheeks pierced. Yes, bars through my cheeks. They have created A LOT of scar tissue and I find it really irritating. How can I get rid of it? I read some things on massaging, will this work on my cheek? Can doctors surgically remove scar tissue, or will that create more? Please answer if you're a professional, not just assuming you know the right answer.
  (+ info)

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