Cervical tuberculous lymphadenitis

Tuberculosis is an infectios disease due to mycobacterium tuberculosis mainly affecting the lung. Therefore, extrapulmonary tuberculosis might be an essentially secondary infection from the primary complex in the lung.Two patients with chief complaint of painless swelling at the right submandibular and cervical region were referred to the clinic. The first case was a 25 year-old married woman with a movable elastic firm tumor at the right cervical region. Infectious foci at the hilus were not observed at the head and neck area indicating only the slight elevation of BSR and positive sign of PPD. The second case was a 49 year-old married woman with movable elastic firm tumor adjacent to the right submandibular gland. Infectious foci was not detected as in the first case indicating only the slight elevation of BSR and positive sign of PPD. Both cases showed no signs of primary complex at the lung area roentogenologically, so direct invasion of mycobacterium tuberculosis to the lymph node through the upper respiratory tract and/ororal cavity was strongly suggested.