Sarcoma is a malignant tumor of which tissue type?

• A. Connective tissue or other non-epithelial tissue
• B. Epithelial tissue
• C. Nervous tissue
• D. Muscle tissue

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that sarcomas come from mesenchymal, non-epithelial tissues. In pathology, sarcomas are malignant tumors arising from connective tissue and related non-epithelial tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, fibrous tissue, vessels, and muscle. That broad descriptor—connective tissue or other non-epithelial tissue—captures the mesenchymal origin of sarcomas, making it the best answer.

Epithelial tissue gives rise to carcinomas, which are a different category. Nervous tissue tumors arise from neural elements, not mesenchyme. Muscle tissue can be involved in sarcomas, but describing sarcoma as “muscle tissue” is too narrow; the overall definition is tumors of mesenchymal/connective tissue origin.