3D Printed Tuberculosis

3D Printed Tuberculosis Clinical History A 37-year old female presents with increasing thoracic back pain. She has a history of untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and pulmonary tuberculosis. History revealed ongoing low-grade fevers, chills and weight loss. Examination revealed a cachexic patient with tender thoracic vertebrae at multiple levels. Blood test showed an elevated serum calcium and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. X-ray of her spine showed lytic areas in the thoracic vertebrae. During her hospital admission, she developed urosepsis and died. Pathology The specimen is a portion of the patient’s thoracic vertebral column that has been sawn longitudinally and mounted to display the cut surface of 7 thoracic vertebrae. In all vertebrae, there are osteolytic areas, varying from 1 to 12 mm in diameter, which contain caseous degenerative material* (mostly now lost) and are surrounded by a thin zone of dense bone. The tuberculous i