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Tuberculosis definitions

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  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis
    A slow-growing, acid-fast rod with a mycolic acid-rich cell wall, responsible for causing a persistent lower respiratory tract infection.
  • Mycolic acid
    A waxy, lipid-rich component of the bacterial cell wall that imparts resistance to desiccation and many antibiotics.
  • Cord factor
    A toxic glycolipid in the cell wall that promotes bacterial aggregation, inhibits neutrophils, and damages mammalian cells.
  • Acid-fast stain
    A laboratory technique used to visualize bacteria with waxy cell walls, resulting in red-stained rods under the microscope.
  • Granuloma
    A compact, organized collection of immune cells that walls off persistent pathogens, often with a cheese-like interior.
  • Tubercle
    A specific granuloma formed in response to infection, encapsulating bacteria within collagen-wrapped macrophages.
  • Latent infection
    A stage where bacteria remain alive but contained, causing no symptoms and posing no risk of transmission.
  • Active infection
    A disease phase marked by symptoms, contagiousness, and possible spread of bacteria beyond the lungs.
  • Mantoux tuberculin skin test
    A diagnostic method involving intradermal injection of purified protein to detect immune sensitization.
  • Ghon complex
    A chest X-ray finding showing a calcified granuloma with associated lymph node involvement, indicating prior infection.
  • Multi-drug resistant strain
    A bacterial variant capable of surviving treatment with first-line antibiotics, complicating therapy.
  • BCG vaccine
    A preventive measure offering variable protection, especially effective in children, but not lifelong or universally used.
  • Alveolar macrophage
    A lung-resident immune cell that engulfs inhaled bacteria, sometimes serving as a replication site for pathogens.
  • Respiratory droplet transmission
    A mode of spread involving inhalation of airborne particles expelled by coughing or sneezing.
  • Consumption
    A historical term for a wasting disease characterized by progressive systemic symptoms and tissue destruction.