Abstract
In all probability, tuberculosis is older than the human race, and different species in the genus Mycobacterium may have caused the disease in mammals, birds, reptiles and fish (Breed et al. 1957). Tuberculosis in man and other animals, both warm-blooded and cold-blooded, may have arisen from a common Mycobacterium ancestor many millions of years ago (Cockburn and Cockburn 1980). Other authors believe that tuberculosis in man may be of much more recent origin. The earliest report on presumptive tuberculosis in ancient Old World human remains is an article by (1907) on a Neolithic skeleton found near Heidelberg, Germany. The fourth and fifth thoracic vertebrae have collapsed and fused with the sixth vertebra, creating an angulation often seen in spinal tuberculosis (Ortner and Putschar 1981).
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Bedeir, S.A. (2004). Tuberculosis in Ancient Egypt. In: Madkour, M.M. (eds) Tuberculosis. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18937-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18937-1_1
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