Scrofula (Archived)

Tuberculosis is the oldest reported infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is known as the 'barometer of social welfare' because of its higher prevalence in less developed areas. Tuberculosis frequently affects the lungs but also affects other parts of the body. Scrofula (historically known as the king's evil) is the tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis caused by hematogenous or lymphatic dissemination of pulmonary TB or reactivation of latent TB or very rarely through primary involvement of adenoids or tonsils. It is the Latin term for Brood sow, which means the tuberculosis of the neck and is the most common extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The major cause of scrofula in the immunocompromised patients is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (95%), and atypical and nontuberculous mycobacteria cause the rest (5%). On the other hand, atypical and nontuberculous mycobacteria are mainly responsible for scrofula in immunocompetent children.