Of Animalcula , Phthisis and Scrofula : Historical Insights into Tuberculosis in the Pre-Koch Era

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) has occupied pride of place throughout the history of disease as a scourge with an unparalleled impact on humankind in terms of morbidity, mortality and economic cost. Until Robert Koch’s revolutionary elucidation of its aetiology in 1882,1 this disease inspired awe, social stigma, a variety of wide-ranging but largely ineffective remedies, and even stimulated artistic fervour in prose, poetry and paintings. It therefore behooves both current and future physicians to look back, recognise and remember the multitude of individuals and disciplines that contributed to (and sometimes detracted from) the understanding of this disease, which was famously alluded to by John Bunyan in 1680 as “the Captain of all these men of death…Consumption”.2 This article casts a spotlight on tuberculosis during the pre-Koch era, from its semantics and eponyms, to a host of individuals (acknowledged or forgotten) who form part of the narrative of this disease as either discoverers or sufferers. These glimpses of past eons, preceding Koch’s landmark discovery of the tubercle bacillus, offer a deeper insight into the complex interactions between disease, discoveries and societal interpretations.