Dread of the infectious disease was once universal – tuberculosis used to be called "consumption" because it totally consumed the affected individual. Tuberculosis (TB) was called “phthisis” in ancient Greece, “tabes” in ancient Rome, and “schachepheth” in ancient Hebrew. Dread of the infectious disease was once universal – tuberculosis used to be called "consumption" because it totally consumed the affected individual. In the early 20th century, TB was a leading cause of death in the United States. Tuberculosis was popularly known as consumption for a long time. Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect any organ in the body. Consumption: An old and once common term for wasting away of the body, particularly from pulmonary tuberculosis . Tuberculosis is caused by an acid-fast bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that usually affects the lungs, though it can affect any organ in the body. By the dawn of the 19th century, tuberculosis—or consumption—had killed one in seven of all people that had ever lived. Why was tuberculosis called consumption? Other old TB terms include the King's evil or scrofula (TB of the lymph nodes in the neck) and Pott's disease (TB of the spine). Scientists know it as an infection caused by M. tuberculosis.In 1882, the microbiologist Robert Koch discovered the tubercle bacillus, at a time when one of every seven deaths in Europe was caused by TB. Tuberculosis: Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that attacks the lungs of TB patients. Formerly called “consumption,” tuberculosis is characterized externally by fatigue, night sweats, and a … Tuberculosis used to be called "consumption". TB was commonly called “consumption” in the 1800s even after Schonlein named it tuberculosis. A type of bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes it. Today, most cases are cured with antibiotics . It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. It can develop when bacteria spread through droplets in the air. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tuberculosis (TB) was the leading cause of death in the United States, and one of the most feared diseases in the world. In the 1700s, TB was called “the white plague” due to the paleness of the patients. TB in America: 1895-1954 Share: Copy Link. TB in America: 1895-1954 Share: Copy Link. Asked in Health What causes turbeculosis? By the dawn of the 19th century, tuberculosis—or consumption—had killed one in seven of all people that had ever lived. How Tuberculosis Shaped Victorian Fashion ... consumption was thought to be caused by hereditary susceptibility and miasmas, or “bad airs,” in the environment.