Gr. rhábdos: “rod, wand” (so named due to the tubular myofibrils, which constitute skeletal muscle tissue, appear as rods under a microscope) + Gr. mûs: “mouse; muscle” (so named because the contracting and relaxing of muscle under the skin was likened to the apperance of a mouse moving under a surface like a rug) + Gr. sárx: “flesh” + Gr. -ōma: “process” (forming nouns indicating tumors or masses, which may be non-neoplastic or (more often) neoplastic, and (if the latter) either benign or cancerous (malignant))