It was not until 1882 that German physician Robert Koch discovered the cause of tuberculosis-Mycobacterium tuberculosis-and that the misconception that tuberculosis was due to a genetic predisposition was put to rest. The disease was from then on classified as an infectious disease caused by a bacterium.
直到西元一八八二年，德國醫生柯霍發現了肺結核的致病原──結核桿菌，肺結核才脫離患者先天體質羸弱的誤解，被定位為一種細菌感染的傳染性疾病。