19th-century tuberculosis ward. This is the Haskoy Hospital for Women in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), then the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection, usually of the lungs, that was a widespread cause of death before a vaccine was developed in the 20th century. In the late 19th century it was discovered that the disease was contagious, and hospitals were created to quarantine patients and prevent the spread of the disease. This photograph, by the Abdullah Brothers, was taken in the period from 1880-1893.