tubercle bacillus

noun

tubercle bacillus

a rodlike Gram-positive bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis , that causes tuberculosis: family Mycobacteriaceae

First recorded in 1895–1900

There are a number of bacilli, called acid-fast bacilli, which stain in the same way as the tubercle bacillus.

Ordinarily, no attempt is made to identify any but the tubercle bacillus and the gonococcus.

This will show all bacteria except the tubercle bacillus, and often no other stain is necessary for their identification.

In tuberculous disease the tubercle bacillus is present in the discharge, but its detection offers some difficulties.

Very few human beings entirely escape infection from the tubercle bacillus at some time in life.

April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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