LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Tuberculosis: Lungs
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Tuberculosis (say: too-burr-cue-low-sis)... called TB, is an infection caused by a bacteria (a germ). Tuberculosis usually affects the lungs, but it can spread to the kidneys, bones, spine, brain and other parts of the body.
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Tuberculosis is caused by an organism called mycobacterium tuberculosis. These bacteria can attack any part of the body, but they most commonly attack the lungs. Tuberculosis bacteria are very common in many resource-poor countries and in poor urban 'pockets' of industrialised countries.
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The improved outlook in regard to the arrest or so-called "cure" of tuberculosis is mainly derived from the improved Diagnosis methods of diagnosis... enabling treatment to be undertaken at an earlier and therefore more Treatment. favourable stage of the disease. The physical signs in early stages of the lung affection are often vague and inconclusive. A means of diagnosis has therefore been sought in the use of tuberculin. The methods are three: (1) The subcutaneous injection method of Koch; (2) the cutaneous method of Von Pirquet; (3) the conjunctival method of WolffEisner and Calmette. The first method depended on the reaction occurring after an injection of "old tuberculin."
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If the TB bacteria multiply, active primary tuberculosis develops. Patients with active primary TB experience such symptoms as coughing, night sweats, weight loss, and fever. A chest X ray may show shadows in the lung or fluid collection between the lung and its lining. If the immune system destroys the bacteria, the patient may experience no more than mild symptoms, such as a cough. If the bacteria are inhibited, rather than destroyed, the body’s immune cells and the bacteria form a lump known as a granuloma or tubercle. In effect, the immune cells form a wall around inactive bacteria.
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In 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared tuberculosis a global emergency. Tuberculosis (TB) is responsible for more deaths than any other infectious disease. Once called consumption, TB is a highly contagious, persistent disease characterized by the formation of hard grayish nodules, or tubercles. The disease is most often caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis and usually occurs in the lungs (the initial site of infection), but it ... can occur in other organs.
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Miliary tuberculosis is a variant that results from the blood-borne dissemination of a great number of organisms resulting in the simultaneous seeding of many organ systems. The meninges, liver, bone marrow, spleen, and genitourinary system are usually involved. The term miliary refers to the lung lesions being the size of millet seeds (about 0.08 in. or 2 mm). These lung lesions are present bilaterally. Symptoms are variable.
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