Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spreads when someone with the untreated, active form

of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.

Although contagious, it's not easy to catch. You're much more likely to get tuberculosis from
someone you live with or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who've had
appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

Signs and symptoms of active TB include:

Coughing that lasts three or more weeks
Coughing up blood
Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
Unintentional weight loss
Fatigue
Fever
Night sweats
Chills
Loss of appetite

Severe effects
Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including your kidneys, spine or
brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs, and symptoms vary according to the organs
involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine may give you back pain, and
tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC)

Bacterial pathogens
M. tuberculosis lineages from humans
MTBC at 40,000 years
Emerged some 40,000 years ago from its progenitor in East Africa

In the Fertile Crescent, 13,000 years ago, small nomadic hunter-gatherer groups were replaced
by farming societies based on domesticated livestock and crops. Crowded farming populations
may have promoted high infection rates, bacterial spread and transition to new niches and
animal hosts.
Coalescence analysis revealed a demographic expansion in most M. tuberculosis lineages,
coinciding with the human population explosion over the last two centuries.

Mesopotamians

Medical Records
Even though the Mesopotamians kept clay records, not much survived or there's no record of
the doctoral proceedings. Four clay tablets have survived that describe a specific surgical
procedure, one is too fragmentary to be deciphered.

One seems to describe a procedure in which the asu cuts into the chest of the patient in order to
drain pus from the pleura. The other two surgical texts belong to the collection of tablets entitled
"Prescriptions for Diseases of the Head." One of these texts mentions the knife of the asu
scraping the skull of the patient. The final surgical tablet mentions the postoperative care of a
surgical wound. This tablet recommends the application of a dressing consisting mainly of
sesame oil, which acted as an anti-bacterial agent.

Medical Practices
Often the asu used metaphorical names for common drugs, such as "lion's fat." Of the drugs
that have been identified, most were plant extracts, resins, or spices. Many of the plants
incorporated into the asu medicinal repertoire had antibiotic properties, while several resins and
many spices have some antiseptic value, and would mask the smell of a malodorous wound.

Beyond these benefits, the actions of the ancient physicians must have carried a strong placebo
effect. Patients undoubtedly believed that the doctors were capable of healing them. Therefore,
at the very least, visiting the doctor psychologically reinforced the notion of health and wellness.

Lack of Detailed Remains

Human remains in the area were poorly preserved due to the moist winters and hot summers,
making the bones fragile and unsuitable for a detailed analysis.
They are scarce for a number of reasons, mostly from the unstable political situation in the
region, which has discouraged scientists from traveling to the area.

J. (n.d.). MEDICINE IN ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA. Retrieved May 05, 2017, from http://
www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/meso.HTMA

(2008, October 8). Out of Mesopotamia. Retrieved May 05, 2017, from http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/
1291.htm?&theme1=3&debut=88TUBERCULOSIS

(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sgrrmc.com/upload/health-article/Tuberculosis.pdfWirth

T., Hildebrand, F., Allix-Bguec, C., Wlbeling, F., Kubica, T., Kremer, K., . . . Niemann, S. (n.d.).
Origin, Spread and Demography of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex. Retrieved May
05, 2017, from http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.
1000160

http://www.sgrrmc.com/upload/health-article/Tuberculosis.pdf

http://www.indiana.edu/~ancmed/meso.HTM

http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1000160

http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/1291.htm?&theme1=3&debut=88