A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with the treatment of tuberculosis in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century before the discovery of antibiotics. A distinction is sometimes made between "sanitarium" or the east-European "sanatorium" and "sanatorium".

What does sanatorium mean?

1 : an establishment that provides therapy combined with a regimen (as of diet and exercise) for treatment or rehabilitation. 2a : an institution for rest and recuperation (as of convalescents) b : an establishment for the treatment of the chronically ill a tuberculosis sanatorium.

What's the difference between a sanitarium and a sanatorium?

The terms sanatorium and sanitarium are interchangeable, however, sanitarium is primarily a North American word. The difference between the words is their origin, though it is not much of a difference. The word sanitorium is derived from the Late Latin word sanitorius, which means health-giving.