[Rare localizations of bone tuberculosis. Three case reports].

Bone and joint involvement is observed in 3 to 5 p. 100 of all cases of tuberculosis and in 15 p. 100 of extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Spinal and weight-bearing joints are most frequently involved. We report three cases of bone tuberculosis with rare localizations that raised difficult diagnostic problems. Our patients had tuberculosis of the sternum, the iliac bone and in the third case, the spine but solely in the posterior arch of the fourth cervical vertebra. X-ray evidenced bone lysis and invasion of adjacent tissues. The cold abscesses were evacuated surgically allowing bacteriological and histological diagnosis. The patients were successfully treated with anti-tuberculosis regimens. An infectious etiology should be considered in patients with bone lesions in order to obtain the samples necessary for positive diagnosis.