About
The character "癌" for cancer entered Chinese medical terminology during the late imperial period, born from conceptual descriptions that likened malignant growths to rocks in their stubborn hardness. Its etymology is transparent in its structure, which pairs the disease radical 疒 with the component 嵒, serving as both a phonetic hint and a semantic indicator meaning rock or crag, thus creating a pictographic representation of a rock-like illness. Before this character's establishment, conditions resembling cancer were often referenced by terms such as "岩" or other phrases emphasizing stony textures, but the creation of "癌" provided a dedicated graphical form that narrowed and solidified its meaning exclusively to malignant neoplasms. This semantic precision has endured, with the character's form remaining consistent and its compositional logic continuing to directly evoke the pathological characteristic that inspired its origin.
Example Sentences Hide
癌症是一种重病。
医生正在治疗癌症。
肺癌是最常见的癌症之一。
健康生活能降低患癌风险。
科学家在研究抗癌药物。
癌细胞会迅速扩散到其他器官。
化疗和放疗是常见的癌症治疗方法。
早期发现癌症对提高治愈率至关重要。