Miliary tuberculosis is a form of tuberculosis that is characterized by a wide dissemination into the human body and by the tiny size of the lesions (1–5 mm). Its name comes from a distinctive pattern seen on a chest radiograph of many tiny spots distributed throughout the lung fields with the appearance similar to millet seeds—thus the term "miliary" tuberculosis. Miliary TB may infect any number of organs, including the lungs, liver, and spleen. Miliary tuberculosis is present in about 2% of all reported cases of tuberculosis and accounts for up to 20% of all extra-pulmonary tuberculosis cases. Signs and symptoms
Patients with miliary tuberculosis often experience non-specific signs, such as coughing and enlarged lymph nodes. Miliary tuberculosis can also present with enlarged liver (40% of cases), enlarged spleen (15%), inflammation of the pancreas (<5%), and multiple organ dysfunction with adrenal insufficiency (adrenal glands do not produce enough steroid hormones to regulate organ function). Stool may also be diarrheal in nature and appearance.Other symptoms include fever, hypercalcemia, choroidal tubercles, and cutaneous lesions. Firstly, many patients can experience a fever lasting several weeks with daily spikes in morning temperatures.Secondly,  hypercalcemia prevails in 16 to 51% of tuberculosis cases. It is thought that hypercalcemia occurs as a response to increased macrophage activity in the body. Such that, 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol (also referred to as calcitriol) improves the ability of macrophages to kill bacteria; however,  higher levels of calcitriol lead to higher calcium levels, and thus hypercalcemia in some cases.
See also
Lupus vulgaris
Metastatic tuberculous abscess or ulceration
Thomas Wolfe
List of cutaneous conditions

References
Further reading
Sharma, SK; Mohan, A; Sharma, A (2012). "Challenges in the diagnosis & treatment of miliary tuberculosis" (PDF). The Indian Journal of Medical Research. 135 (5): 703–30. PMC 3401706. PMID 22771605. Reichman, Lee B., M.D., M.P.H. & Tanne, Janice H. (2002). "Timebomb: The Global Epidemic of Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis. Mcgraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-135924-9
Albino, Juan A.; Reichman, Lee B. (1 January 1998). "The Treatment of Tuberculosis". Respiration. 65 (4): 237–255. doi:10.1159/000029271. PMID 9730789. S2CID 7216163. Rieder, Hans L (November–December 1998). "How to Combat Tuberculosis in the Year 2000?". Respiration. 65 (6): 423–431. doi:10.1159/000029309. PMID 9817956. S2CID 46865618. External links
 Media related to Miliary tuberculosis at Wikimedia Commons