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This classic paper by Dr. Koch, announcing the discovery of the tubercle bacillus, presented before the Physiological Society of Berlin in 1882, is published by the National Tuberculosis Association marking the semicentenary of Koch's epoch-making achievement. The paper itself, recently translated from the German by Dr. and Mrs Max Pinner, is made far more interesting to the present-day reader by a sympathetic and illuminating introduction by Dr. Allen E. Krause. In the introduction, Krause outlines clearly the status of medical knowledge of half a century ago and reviews the scientific endeavors of Koch leading up to his final conclusions in such manner that the reader grasps the state of mind of the medical world when Koch announced his discovery.
The little volume includes a reproduction of the original article as it appeared in the Berliner klinische Wochenschrift, a portrait of Koch and other historic illustrations.