Purpose Tuberculosis is quite common in India. About 40% of all Indians are infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis, with 2.5 million active tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis primarily affects the lungs, but it… Click to show full abstract
Purpose Tuberculosis is quite common in India. About 40% of all Indians are infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis, with 2.5 million active tuberculosis cases. Tuberculosis primarily affects the lungs, but it can affect any organ. Extra-pulmonary involvement occurs 15-20% of cases in immune-competent patients and in more than 50% in HIV patients. The most common extra-pulmonary sites are lymph nodes, pleura, abdomen, genitourinary tract, skin, joints and bones, or meninges. Case reports In this pictorial review article we present 8 atypical cases of tuberculosis and describe their imaging features and histopathology. Conclusions Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis can affect virtually any organ and can mimic various inflammatory and neoplastic disorders apart from other infective conditions. A strong index of suspicion is required particularly in those countries endemic to tuberculosis.
               
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