Tubercle Bacillus
/ˈtuː.bɚ.kəl bəˈsɪl.əs/noun
A rod-shaped bacterium that causes tuberculosis.
Did you know?The disease name tuberculosis comes from the Latin tuberculum, meaning a small lump or swelling, because the infection was identified by the nodules it formed in the body.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
tuber
“a swelling, lump, or knob”
Late Latin
Latin
tuberculum
“a small swelling or little lump”
18th Century
New Latin
tuberculum
“used in medical Latin for a small pathological swelling”
1882
German
Tuberkelbazillus
“Koch’s term for the bacterium causing tuberculosis”
Late 19th Century
English
tubercle bacillus
“the bacillus identified as the cause of tuberculosis”
Modern English
English
tubercle bacillus
“a rod-shaped bacterium causing tuberculosis”
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