Pneumonia historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Hamid Qazi, MD, BSc [2], Serge Korjian M.D., Priyamvada Singh, M.D. [3]

The pneumonia syndrome has been recognized since ancient times. It was initially described by Hippocrates who recorded his observations of its symptoms and complications. Edwin Klebs was the first to identify bacteria in the lungs of patients who died from pneumonia in 1875. This discovery was soon-after substantiated by the works of Carl Friedländer and Albert Fränkel who were the first to identify Streptococcus pneumoniae as a causative agent. The introduction of the gram stain subsequently led to the discovery of other causative organisms. Despite being an important cause of mortality before the late twentieth century, the advent of antibiotics, modern surgical techniques, and vaccination drastically lowered the morbidity and mortality of pneumonia with the turn of the century.

• Pneumonia was first discovered by Hippocrates.
• In 1817, Dr. Simpson of United Kingdom was the first to report a case of pneumonia treated with blood letting.^[1]
• In 1842, Dr. Edward Newfold of United Kingdom was the first to report a case of typhoid pneumonia.^[2]
• In 1875, Dr. Edwin Klebs was the first to discover the association between bacteria and the development of pneumonia.

• In 1902, Dr. Wright discovered the pneumococcal vaccine as a preventative treatment of pneumonia.^[3]

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