Benign pathologic processes are all those illnesses that lack cancer's ability to erode, spread and destroy. Some benign illnesses are the result of inflammation while others are tumorous. "Benign" tumors are almost always easier to control in their local areas that are cancers, and they don't spread via lymphatics or the bloodstream to other body organs.

This is a reflection at the gross level of the "more orderly" nature of benign tumors. It is also seen at the microscopic level, where the cells look more uniform with differentiation of a gradual nature.