'Tubercle' definitions:

Definition of 'tubercle'

(from WordNet)
noun
A swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis
noun
Small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant [syn: nodule, tubercle]
noun
A protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligament [syn: tuberosity, tubercle, eminence]

Definition of 'Tubercle'

From: GCIDE
  • Tubercle \Tu"ber*cle\, n. [L. tuberculum, dim. of tuber: cf. F. tubercule, OF. also tubercle. See Tuber.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. A small knoblike prominence or excrescence, whether natural or morbid; as, a tubercle on a plant; a tubercle on a bone; the tubercles appearing on the body in leprosy. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. (Med.) A small mass or aggregation of morbid matter; especially, the deposit which accompanies scrofula or phthisis. This is composed of a hard, grayish, or yellowish, translucent or opaque matter, which gradually softens, and excites suppuration in its vicinity. It is most frequently found in the lungs, causing consumption. [1913 Webster]
  • Tubercle bacillus (Med.), a minute vegetable organism (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, formerly {Bacillus tuberculosis}, and also called Koch's bacillus) discovered by Koch, a German physician, in the sputum of consumptive patients and in tuberculous tissue. It is the causative agent of tuberculosis. [1913 Webster +PJC]