[Tuberculosis of the penis: report of a case]

Tuberculosis of the penis has become a rare disease since antituberculosis drugs have come to be widely used. It may be primary or secondary to coexisting tuberculosis elsewhere in the body. In the case of gross destruction of the glans penis and urethra, it is not always easy to differentiate tuberculosis from carcinoma of the penis. A 87-year-old man was admitted with painful ulceration on the glans penis and dysuria. Physical examination strongly suggested carcinoma of the penis other than infectious diseases. In addition, there was no evidence of a tuberculous lesion in other urogenital organs or lungs. Therefore, partial amputation of the penis was performed after admission to the hospital. Histopathological findings, however, revealed typical tuberculosis with Langhans' type of giant cells and no malignancy.