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[UPDATED] The medical term [hemangioma] is formed by two root terms and a suffix. The root term [hem-] arises from the Greek word [αίμα] (a?ma) meaning "blood", the second root term [-angi-] .from the Greek term [αγγείο] (angeio), meaning "vessel” and the suffix [-oma] (ωμα), also Greek, meaning "mass", "growth”, or "tumor". The term [hemangioma] then means a “mass of blood vessels”, a description not far from the truth.
A variation of the term is [hemangiomata], where the suffix [-omata] is plural, indicating multiple hemangiomas.
In general, a hemangioma can be described as a mass of blood vessels that can be convoluted, radiated, or swollen. Usually benign, hemangiomas appear in newborns and tend to evolve, involve, and disappear in the first ten years of life.
Other types of hemangiomas can be found in adults, with a tendency to be more prevalent in females than males. There are three types of hemangiomas described:
• Capillary hemangioma. Usually form skin patches known as “strawberry hemangiomas”. See image.
• Venous hemangioma. They are characterized by a “knot” or convoluted mass of veins. Since veins are usually more dilated than arteries, they are also known as “cavernous hemangiomas”. They can be found in a subcutaneous location or on internal organs, such as the liver.
• Arterial hemangioma. Formed by arteries, they tend to radiate and form a network of arteries, hence the term “plexiform hemangiomas”
• Vulvar hemangiomata. Multiple hemangiomas in the external female genitalia. For more information, click here
The image shows a small hemangioma in the scalp of a two-year old. Image by Cbheumircanl (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons