DEFINITION of -omata

In classical/Greek-based medical terminology, many singular nouns ending in -oma (e.g., hematoma, fibroma, carcinoma, sarcoma) can take the plural -omata (hematomata, fibromata, carcinomata, sarcomata). This is the older, more classical plural; in modern clinical English, you will also see and chart -omas as an acceptable plural (e.g., “multiple fibromas”), but -omata is still correct and shows up in pathology texts and some formal writing.


ETYMOLOGY of -omata

  • -oma comes from Greek -ōma −ωμα−ωμα, a noun-forming suffix meaning “result,” “product,” or “swelling/tumor,” especially in a pathological sense.

  • The plural in Greek is -ōmata −ωˊματα−ωˊματα, which is anglicized as -omata in medical terms.

  • English later also created the simpler regular plural -omas, so you now have two plurals in usesarcomas and sarcomata are both correct.


RELATED TERMS to -omata

  • Singular vs plural:

    • Singular: -oma = tumor, neoplasm, swelling (e.g., lymphoma, melanoma, osteoma).

    • Plural: -omata (classical) or -omas (modern/colloquial clinical).

  • Related “mass / lesion” suffixes:

    • -cele = hernia, protrusion (e.g., hydrocele).

    • -cyst / -cystis = sac, bladder, cyst.

    • -itis (inflammation) and -oma can intersect in cancer terms historically (e.g., lymphoma vs lymphadenitis).


Coding angle (ICD-10-CM/CPT)

  • Coding systems don’t distinguish between -oma and -omata / -omas; they just care about:

    • The type of tumor (benign vs malignant, site, histology).

    • The number and location when that impacts code choice or modifiers.

  • Examples you’ll see conceptually (no single code for “-omata”):

    • Malignant neoplasms (e.g., various C codes in ICD-10-CM for carcinomas, sarcomas).

    • Benign neoplasms (D codes) or neoplasms of uncertain behavior, all built on -oma roots in the diagnostic term.

For your Obsidian setup, I’d give -oma its main entry and note -omata under it as “classical plural of -oma = multiple tumors/masses,” with a quick reminder that modern charts often use -omas instead.



Med roots dictionary Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms