Vähivorme

Vähivorme is a Finnish term historically used to refer to the various forms or variants of malignant tumors. In older medical texts, the word denotes the appearance or morphological type of cancer as observed in clinical examination or histopathology, rather than a single defined disease.

The term is a compound of vähi (cancer or malignant disease) and muoto (form). It has been used especially in older oncology and pathology literature to categorize tumors according to morphological characteristics such as tissue of origin, growth pattern, and cellular features. It is not tied to one precise diagnosis but to the general appearance of the neoplasm.

In contemporary medical practice, cancer classification relies on specific histological diagnosis and standardized categories (for example, carcinoma, sarcoma, lymphoma, leukemia) along with grading and staging. Consequently, vähivorme is now more often encountered as a historical or descriptive term rather than a formal diagnostic label. It may appear in archived records, old atlases, or educational materials that convey the concept of different cancer forms without naming a particular entity.

See also: cancer, tumor, neoplasm, oncology, pathology, carcinoma, sarcoma.

References: Finnish medical dictionaries or historical oncology texts for historical usage.