Tuberculin

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-632-7753

Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.

Overview

Tuberculin is an antigen used to aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection. An infection with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis frequently leads to a sensitivity to these antigens. Tuberculin was discovered by German scientist and physician Robert Koch in 1890.

The original tuberculin discovered by Koch was a glycerine extract of the tubercle bacilli and was developed as a remedy for tuberculosis, but it was ineffective in this role. Clemens von Pirquet discovered that patients who had previously received injections of horse serum or smallpox vaccine had quicker, more severe reactions to a second injection, and he coined the word allergy to describe this hypersensitivity reaction. Soon thereafter von Pirquet discovered the same type of reaction took place in those infected with tuberculosis, and he thus found the utility of what would become the tuberculin skin test. The test used in the United States at present is referred to as the Mantoux test, in the United Kingdom it is referred to as the Heaf test. Both of these tests use "Purified Protein Derivative", or "PPD", which is a tuberculin derivative.

See also

• tuberculosis
• Heaf test
• Mantoux test
• Tuberculin Skin Tests

ko:투베르쿨린sl:Tuberkulin