PhysiologyTo successfully understand tuberculosis, you must understand its physiology. Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, “a strain with limited genetic diversity and no significant animal or environmental reservoir” (Cook, et al., 2009, p. 41). Even without a known site where the bacteria are most prevalent, the bacteria can still be dangerous in small quantities because the bacteria is highly adept at counteracting and avoiding its host's immune system (p. 41). “M. tuberculosis is also able to adapt to very different intracellular environments including: phagosomes in macrophages and dendritic cells, granulomas, and even fat cells,” (p. 41). Phagosomes are vesicles that form around pathogens and ultimately destroy said pathogens (Tessema, Koets, & Rutten, 2011, p. To fully achieve its goal of eliminating the pathogen, a phagosome must fuse with a lysosome. A Once fused, the enzymes contained in the lysosome work to digest/eliminate pathogens contained in the phagosome (pp. 157-158) is adept at preventing this fusion allowing the bacteria to successfully avoid detection by the immune system (pp. 159-160). Granulomas are collections of macrophages used to separate the body from foreign particles (p. 158). p. 158).Tuberculosis disease is extremely dangerous and fatal if left untreated, and given the various drug-resistant strains in the world, the need for global awareness of tuberculosis is vital. Treatments To determine if someone has tuberculosis you can do a tuberculosis skin test or a blood test skin test. These are preliminary tests, so if someone tests positive for tuberculosis then a... middle of paper...... y Microbiologià Clínica, 57-62.Sharma, S., & Mohan, A. (2004) . Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Indian J Med Res, 354-376.Society, AT, CDC and America, ID (2003). Treatment of tuberculosis. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 1-74. Tessema, M., Koets, A., & Rutten, V. (2011). Bacteriology: paratuberculosis review: how mycobacterium avium subsp. works. Does paratuberculosis resist intracellular degradation? Veterinary Quarterly, 153-162.Waddington, K. (2004). To eradicate "so terrible a disease": bovine tuberculosis and tuberculin testing in Britain, 1890-1939. Medical history, 29-48.WHO. (2002, August). World Health Organization. Retrieved April 15, 2014Zager, E. M., & McNerney, R. (2008). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Infectious Diseases BMC, 1-5.Zaman, K. (2010). Tuberculosis: a global health problem. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 111-113.