This Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified by Robert Koch as a causative agent of Tuberculosis. There are other forms of Mycobacterium that cause human disease, but the two that cause tuberculosis are Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis. The most common of the two is the bovine strain. The bovine strain primarily infects cattle, but it is also capable of causing human disease. That is, it can be passed on in milk.
Tuberculosis usually begins as a small inflamed area in one lung, which turns into a cavity.
This cavity is also called the air filled tuberculosis cavity. It is from this cavity that the bacteria can spread to new foci of infections throughout the body. The past helps one learn from the mistakes that occur in the present. When Tuberculosis first developed, people did not have the experience or the knowledge that we have today. Tuberculosis has come a long way and has changed the lives of many.