Pulmonary tuberculosis and its management in classical Unani literature

Abstract

Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in the world from a single infectious disease and represents more than a quarter of the world's preventable deaths. <i style="">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</i> is the etiologic agent of tuberculosis (TB) in humans. Transmission of TB occurs primarily by the aerosol route but can also occur through the gastrointestinal tract. Coughing by people with active TB produces droplet nuclei containing infectious organisms which can remain suspended in the air for several hours. Infection occurs if inhalation of these droplets results in the organism reaching the alveoli of the lungs. Since administration of a single drug often leads to the development of a bacterial population resistant to that drug, effective regimens for the treatment of TB contain multiple drugs to which the organisms are susceptible. Tuberculosis is usually treated with four different antimicrobial agents. The paper reviews the disease and treatment known to ancient Unani physicians. Pathophysiology and pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis have been elaborately discussed. Attempts have been made to correlate and interpret the views of ancient Unani physicians with the modern concept.