Artificial pneumothorax boxes

Lawrence, Ghislaine

Artificial pneumothorax boxes

Resource type

Journal article

Creator (person)

Lawrence, Ghislaine

Date published

October 2002

Abstract

Deaths caused by tuberculosis declined sharply in the UK after about 1850, but the disease remained a major killer. Robert Koch (1843–1910) discovered the tubercle bacillus in 1882, but options for therapy were limited, especially for the poor. Most sanatoria were privately run and, before the 1911 Insurance Act, beyond the means of many sufferers. From 1921, county councils in England and Wales were legally obliged to provide treatment for all tuberculosis patients, insured or not. Public expenditure on tuberculosis increased roughly tenfold in the next decade.