結核
Meaning in Englishtuberculosis
Animated kanji stroke order
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Word context
What it means
結核 is the infectious disease tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, most often affecting the lungs but can involve other organs.
Main meanings
- refers to tuberculosis, including latent and active infection
- commonly used in medical literature and public health contexts
- appears in compounds such as 肺結核 and 結核病 to specify pulmonary TB or the disease in general
How to use it
Used in formal medical terminology across clinical notes, textbooks, and public health communications; common phrases include 肺結核, 結核患者, 結核検査, 結核治療; in casual speech, speakers may specify the site or refer to it with the English acronym TB in mixed settings.
Variants and close terms
- 肺結核 (はいけっかく, haikekkaku) pulmonary tuberculosis
- 結核病 (けっかくびょう, kekkakyū) tuberculosis disease
- 結核菌 (けっかくきん, kekkakukin) tubercle bacillus
Composition
- 結: to tie, bind; conveys joining or linking
- 核: core, nucleus; denotes central part
Etymology
結 (ketsu) + 核 (kaku) → けっかく, a Sino‑Japanese compound formed with the on'yomi readings of the two kanji to name the disease in medical terminology; the phonology follows on'yomi concatenation rather than a native reading.
Origin
The term was integrated into Japanese medical vocabulary during the Meiji period (late 19th century) as part of adopting Western medicine, establishing a standard label for the tuberculous disease in clinical and academic texts.
Word class
Noun (名詞)