Tu"ber*cle (?), n. [L. tuberculum,
dim. of tuber: cf. F. tubercule, OF. also tubercle.
See Tuber.]
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.
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.
Tubercle bacillus (Med.), a minute
vegetable organism (Bacillus tuberculosis) discovered by Koch, a
German physician, in the sputum of consumptive patients and in tuberculous
tissue, and believed to be the exciting cause of tubercles and
tuberculosis.
Tu"ber*cle (?), n. [L. tuberculum,
dim. of tuber: cf. F. tubercule, OF. also tubercle.
See Tuber.]
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.
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.
Tubercle bacillus (Med.), a minute
vegetable organism (Bacillus tuberculosis) discovered by Koch, a
German physician, in the sputum of consumptive patients and in tuberculous
tissue, and believed to be the exciting cause of tubercles and
tuberculosis.
