title: Historical perspectives on the etiology of tuberculosis.
abstract: Robert Koch's 1882 demonstration that the tubercle bacillus was the true cause of tuberculosis established a new understanding of causation in medicine. This scientific breakthrough set in motion an etiological revolution with vast implications for the control of infectious disease, and its ramifications are still being felt today.
authors.affiliation: Department of the History of Science, Harvard University, Science Center, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Barnes
mesh_terms: D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D011057:Politics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history* / Q000382:microbiology