n 1  :  a small knobby prominence or excrescence: as  a  :  a prominence on the crown of a molar tooth  b  :  a small rough prominence on a bone usu. being smaller than a tuberosity and serving for the attachment of one or more muscles or ligaments - see GREATER TUBERCLE LESSER TUBERCLE   c  :  an eminence near the head of a rib that articulates with the transverse process of a vertebra  d  :  any of several prominences in the central nervous system that mark the nuclei of various nerves <the acoustic >   2  :  a small discrete lump in the substance of an organ or in the skin : esp  :  the specific lesion of tuberculosis consisting of a packed mass of epithelioid cells, giant cells, disintegration products of white blood cells and bacilli, and usu. a necrotic center .
 
 
 
Similar sounding terms:  tubercula 
 
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