LE BECAUSE OF 2000 YEARS
AND EXPERIENCE
HIPPOCRATES
KOCH
r
r
DeVe
The Greek
physician,
Hippocrates, describes correctly
the signs and symptoms of con
sumption Modem doctors no
longer wait for signs and symp
toms to appear before suspect
ing tuberculosis because usual
ly there are no signs and symp
toms when tuberculosis begins.
1QQO The German physi-
IOO a cian, Robert Koch,
discovers the tuberculosis germ.
For 2,000 years doctors had been
in the dark as to the cause of this
disease, until Koch proved it is
caused by germs which can be
seen with a microscope If tuber
culosis germs can be seen in
your sputum, it means that you
are a spreader of the disease.
AUENBRUGGER
PIRQUET
An Austrian army
■ w 01 physician. Dr. Leo
pold Auenbrugger, discovers
that by gentle tapping with the
lingers on the chest sounds are
revealed which indicate changes
in the lung caused by tuberculo
sis and other diseases Napo
leon's physician, Dr. Corvissart,
made "tapping'' (percussion)
popular in 1808 and ever since
all physicians use it.
1QA7
Viennese chil-
l#v/ dren's specialist. Dr.
Clemens von Pirquet, observes
that the presence of tuberculosis
germs hidden in the body can
be detected by a skin test known
as the tuberculin test The French
physician, Dr. Mantoux, im
proved Pirquet's method, making
the test more reliable. Several
million tuberculin tests are now
given by physicians each year.
ann
LAENNEC
The French physician,
IO I JF Dr René Théophile
Hyacinthe Laonnec, invents the
stethoscope, the instrument doc
tors use for listening to the
sounds which air makes when
rushing in and out of the lung.
The stethoscope is still one of our
important diagnostic aids, but
physicians today no longer rely
on the stethoscope alone in diag
nosing early tuberculosis
PHYSICIANS DEPEND
ON THE X-RAY FOR
MAKING DIAGNOSIS
EARLY
The most important recent discov
ery is that some people may have
tuberculosis that cannot be diagnosed
by any other method except by the
X ray Tuberculosis in its early
stages is often without signs and
"Tapping'' and "listen
ing, even the sputum test, may re
veal nothing while attempting to dis
symptoms
cover early tuberculosis However, a
positive tuberculin test means infec
tion and the X ray may reveal the
sick spot in the lung before slowly
appearing symptoms such as fatigue,
loss of weight, indigestion or a cough
arouse any suspicion The X-ray has
become an essential part of a lung
examination No chest examination
for tuberculosis is complete without
the X-ray.
ROENTGEN
1QQE The German profes-
IOYJ sor of physics, Wil
helm Konrad von Roentgen, dis
covers the X-ray. No one fore
saw the possibility of using this
penetrating ray to discover hid
den tuberculosis. Twenty years
had to pass before X-ray equip
ment was developed that would
enable physicians to photograph
the faintest shadows cast by dis
eased spots in sick lungs. Now
the X-ray is our most important
diagnostic aid.