A patient testing his lung function, Harefield Sanatorium, Harefield, Greater London
A nurse observing a patient with tuberculosis (TB) using a spirometer to test his lung function. A spirometer tests the function of a patient’s lungs and is used to assess the progress of disease or treatment. It records a patient’s total vital capacity – the total volume of air breathed out. Tuberculosis (TB) was an infectious bacterial disease transmitted through the air, that mainly affected people’s lungs. Before vaccines and antibiotics were developed it was treated by sending patients to a hospital in a place with clean air for ‘bed-rest’, often outside. Harefield Sanatorium opened in 1921 for the treatment of tuberculosis patients. It became world-renown for the treatment of lung and respiratory conditions.
