Tuberculosis has existed in Bogotá since prehispanic times. The occurrence during this period and during the Conquest and the Colony periods was low. Between 1870 and 1920 the incidence increased to epidemic proportions, in local areas and nationally. The occurrence of pulmonary tuberculosis during this period is described and analyzed; some historic facts and features of society potentially associated with the epidemic are included. The development of pathological anatomy at the Universidad Nacional helped to detect the epidemic, because the differentiation of tuberculosis from Oesophagostomum radiatum lesions became possible, as well as the recommendation of sanitary policies. The pulmonary tuberculosis epidemic was probably associated with the accelerated urbanization that was occurring in Bogotá at the time.