tuberculin
The definitions used in this glossary of terminology either have been provided by the authors of the articles, or have been extracted wholly or in part, or paraphrased from the following sources: The American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles B. Clayman, MD, Medical Editor, Random House, New York, 1989; Biotechnology from A to Z, 2d Edition, William Bains, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; A Dictionary of Genetics, 6th Edition, Robert C. King and William D. Stansfield, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2002; Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 29th and 30th Editions, W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 2000, 2003; Genes VII, Benjamin Lewin, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2000; The Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, Volumes I and II, Stacey L. Blachford, Ed., Thomson Learning, New York, New York, 2002; The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, Massachusetts, 1997; Molecular Biology of the Cell, 3rd Edition, Bruce Alberts, et al., Garland Publishing, 1994; The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged Edition, 1966; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1991.
DEFINITION:
- tuberculin
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[USP] A sterile solution containing growth products of the tubercle bacillus used in skin tests for tuberculosis; also commonly used antigen in laboratory immunology. Tuberculin was introduced in 1890 by Koch as a cure for tuberculosis, but proved to be an ineffective and dangerous treatment. Although many different tuberculin preparations have been devised, all are now obsolete except old tuberculin (OT) and purified protein derivative (PPD). Dosages are expressed in tuberculin units (TU), which measure biologic activity as compared with a standard tuberculin preparation. Three dosages are used: first strength tuberculin (1 TU), used for young children or persons in whom extreme hypersensitivity is expected, intermediate strength tuberculin (5 TU), the standard test dose, and second strength tuberculin (250 TU), used for retests.
Used in 3 Term definitions
Used in 3 Term definitions