TUBERCLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tubercle mean? 

• TUBERCLE (noun)
  The noun TUBERCLE has 3 senses:

1. a swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis

2. small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant

3. a protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligament

  Familiarity information: TUBERCLE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TUBERCLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("tubercle" is a kind of...):

lesion (any localized abnormal structural change in a bodily part)

Derivation:

tubercular (constituting or afflicted with or caused by tuberculosis or the tubercle bacillus)

tubercular (characterized by the presence of tuberculosis lesions or tubercles)

tuberculous (constituting or afflicted with or caused by tuberculosis or the tubercle bacillus)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Small rounded wartlike protuberance on a plant

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

nodule; tubercle

Hypernyms ("tubercle" is a kind of...):

enation; plant process (a natural projection or outgrowth from a plant body or organ)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A protuberance on a bone especially for attachment of a muscle or ligament

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

eminence; tubercle; tuberosity

Hypernyms ("tubercle" is a kind of...):

appendage; outgrowth; process (a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "tubercle"):

deltoid eminence; deltoid tuberosity (a bump on the outside of the humerus where the deltoid muscle attaches)

Derivation:

tubercular (pertaining to or of the nature of a normal tuberosity or tubercle)

 Context examples 

An acute form of TUBERCULOSIS in which minute tubercles are formed in a number of organs of the body due to dissemination of the bacilli through the blood stream.

(Miliary Tuberculosis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The anterior tubercle on the humerus neck where the subscapularis tendon inserts.

(Lesser Tuberosity, NCI Thesaurus)

A flat fibrous band extending from the apex and margins of the patella to the tubercle of the tibia.

(Patellar Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)

A muscle originating from the anterior tubercle of the transverse processes of cervical vertebrae three through six that inserts at the basilar process of the occipital bone acting to turn the neck anteriorly.

(Longus Capitis, NCI Thesaurus)

One of the four muscles comprising the rotator cuff that is triangular in shape and extends from the infraspinatus fossa of the scapula to the greater tubercle of the humerus.

(Infraspinatus, NCI Thesaurus)

An opening in the transversalis fascia midway between the anterior superior iliac spine and pubic tubercle through which the spermatic cord (males) or round ligament (females) pass.

(Internal Abdominal Ring, NCI Thesaurus)

A muscle originating from the transverse processes of the lower thoracic vertebrae which inserts into the ribs between the angles and tubercles as well as the transverse and accessory processes of the upper lumbar vertebrae acting to extend the spine.

(Longissimus Thoracis, NCI Thesaurus)