tuberculosis

[ too-bur-kyuh-loh-sis, tyoo- ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. an infectious disease that may affect almost any tissue of the body, especially the lungs, caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and characterized by tubercles.
2. this disease when affecting the lungs; pulmonary phthisis; consumption.
3. any disease caused by a mycobacterium.

tuberculosis

/ tjʊˌbɜːkjʊˈləʊsɪs /

noun

1. a communicable disease caused by infection with the tubercle bacillus, most frequently affecting the lungs ( pulmonary tuberculosis ) Also calledconsumptionphthisis TB

tuberculosis

/ t-bûr′kyə-lō′sĭs /

1. An infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is transmitted through inhalation and is characterized by cough, fever, shortness of breath, weight loss, and the appearance of inflammatory substances and tubercles in the lungs. Tuberculosis is highly contagious and can spread to other parts of the body, especially in people with weakened immune systems. Although the incidence of the disease has declined since the introduction of antibiotic treatment in the 1950's, it is still a major public-health problem throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa.

tuberculosis

1. An infectious disease caused by bacteria that mainly attack the lungs . The disease is characterized by the formation of patches, called tubercles, that appear in the lungs and, in later stages, the bones, joints, and other parts of the body. Tuberculosis is treated with combinations of antibiotics and is no longer considered a major health problem in industrialized countries. It was formerly called consumption.

Notes

Years ago, tuberculosis (consumption) was a major killer; it often figures in literature and drama.

In recent years, the incidence of tuberculosis has been on the increase in the United States, particularly in large cities, mainly because the strains of the bacterium have developed resistance to antibiotics .

Other Words From

• anti·tu·bercu·losis adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuberculosis¹

First recorded in 1855–60; from New Latin tūberculōsis; tubercle, -osis

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuberculosis¹

C19: from New Latin; see tubercle , -osis

Example Sentences

In “Illness as Metaphor,” Sontag wrote about diseases — cancer and tuberculosis — that took their toll over relatively long periods, so the experience of being ill lasted months or years.

From Washington Post

Murdoch Children’s Research InstituteThe BCG vaccine was created in the early 20th Century to prevent tuberculosis and is given to more than 100 million children around the world every year.

From Popular-Science

The vaccine has additional benefits beyond protecting people from tuberculosis.

From Popular-Science

He had been charged with figuring out why some children, who were otherwise perfectly healthy, fell severely ill after receiving the tuberculosis vaccine.

From Quanta Magazine

Another hypothesis involves the BCG vaccine, a century-old inoculation against tuberculosis that has been touted as a “flak-jacket” and a “game-changer” against the novel coronavirus.

From Quanta Magazine

Schmidt had arrived in California after his family had been wiped out by tuberculosis in his home state of Rhode Island.

From The Daily Beast

But when Tarkhan got sick with tuberculosis and was ushered out, the government gave him no pension or medical assistance.

From The Daily Beast

But he did endure tuberculosis and the Nazis, so he knew a thing or two about suffering.

From The Daily Beast

But drugs have potentially devastating side effects, and Mengnan developed tuberculosis (TB), an infection that can be deadly.

From The Daily Beast

Her sister, Magda, is quarantined after catching tuberculosis aboard their cramped vessel, and her aunt is nowhere to be found.

From The Daily Beast

It is sometimes met with in the sputum of catarrhal pneumonia, bronchitis, and tuberculosis.

From Project Gutenberg

It is small in cloudy swelling from toxins and drugs, and variable in renal tuberculosis and neoplasms.

From Project Gutenberg

Blood-streaked sputum is strongly suggestive of tuberculosis, and is more common in the early stages than later.

From Project Gutenberg

Its continued presence in pulmonary tuberculosis is, however, a grave prognostic sign, even when the physical signs are slight.

From Project Gutenberg

Considerable hemorrhages from the bladder may occur in vesical calculus, tuberculosis, and newgrowths.

From Project Gutenberg