[The pathology of the tuberculosis 100 years ago and its present role in mortality].
On occasion of the centenary of the detection of the tubercle bacteria by Robert Koch we try to give a survey on the knowledge of pathology of tuberculosis 100 years ago. Besides mystic considerations since the antique medicine, the cause of the tuberculosis was seen in a phthisic habitus, as endogenous, not perceptible, the disease as not curable, its nature as a hereditary illness, as a metabolic disorder or, in the time of Robert Koch, mostly as a malignant neoplasia. Only few physicians considered the tuberculosis as an infectious disease with inflammatory properties. Since his discovery of the tubercle bacteria, Robert Koch was sure that the tuberculosis could be cured and eradicated like other infectious diseases. He believed that this aim could be attained in a short period. At the end of this paper, a brief review is given about the frequency and importance of the tuberculosis as a cause of death in the past and especially nowadays after the consequent fight against this disease.
D001344:Autopsy; D005859:Germany, East; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000266:history* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology
Die Pathologie der Tuberkulose vor 100 Jahren und ihre heutige Bedeutung als Todesursache.