tubercle
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (3)
- a swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosisType of lesion
- small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plantSynonyms: noduleType of plant process, enation
- a protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligamentSynonyms: tuberosityeminenceType of process, outgrowthKinds deltoid tuberosity, deltoid eminence
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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. Medicine 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 Medicine, 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.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC