tubercle bacillus

2 definitions found

tubercle bacillus - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Tubercle \Tu"ber*cle\, n. [L. tuberculum, dim. of tuber: cf. F.
     tubercule, OF. also tubercle. See Tuber.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A small knoblike prominence or excrescence, whether
        natural or morbid; as, a tubercle on a plant; a tubercle
        on a bone; the tubercles appearing on the body in leprosy.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Med.) A small mass or aggregation of morbid matter;
        especially, the deposit which accompanies scrofula or
        phthisis. This is composed of a hard, grayish, or
        yellowish, translucent or opaque matter, which gradually
        softens, and excites suppuration in its vicinity. It is
        most frequently found in the lungs, causing consumption.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Tubercle bacillus (Med.), a minute vegetable organism
        (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, formerly Bacillus  tuberculosis
        , and also called Koch's bacillus)
        discovered by Koch, a German physician, in the sputum of
        consumptive patients and in tuberculous tissue. It is the
        causative agent of tuberculosis.
        [1913 Webster +PJC]

tubercle bacillus - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  tubercle bacillus
      n 1: cause of tuberculosis [syn: tubercle bacillus,
           Mycobacterium tuberculosis]