Definition

Noun: * The bacterium that causes tuberculosis: Tubercle bacillus is the common name for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the specific pathogenic bacterium responsible for the infectious disease tuberculosis (TB). It is characterized by its rod-like shape and a waxy cell wall that makes it resistant to many common stains and disinfectants.

Usage

• The term is used in medical, microbiological, and historical contexts to refer to the causative agent of TB.
• It is often used when discussing the discovery, identification, or characteristics of the bacterium.
• Example: "Robert Koch identified the in 1882."
• Example: "The patient's sputum tested positive for the ."

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used in a broader, sometimes non-technical sense to symbolize the disease of tuberculosis itself.
• Example (historical/literary): "The fight against the defined much of 20th-century public health."

Variants and Related Words

• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (n): The formal, scientific name for the tubercle bacillus.
• TB bacillus (n): A common abbreviated synonym.
• Acid-fast bacillus (AFB) (n): A descriptive term based on its staining properties; a positive AFB test often indicates the presence of the tubercle bacillus.

Synonyms

• TB bacterium
• Koch's bacillus (historical)

Notes on Different Meanings

• The term has a single, specific medical meaning. It does not have general or idiomatic uses outside of its reference to the causative agent of tuberculosis. The word "tubercle" alone can refer to a small nodular lesion, but "tubercle bacillus" is a fixed compound noun with the specific definition above.

Noun

1. cause of tuberculosis