ABSTRACT
Chlorosis was the first described by Lange in the 16th century as an anemia often found in adolescent girls and young women. Despite the recommendation by Sydenham in the 17th century that the condition be treated with iron supplements, chlorosis was classified among the hysterical diseases. By the end of the 19th century, the incidence of chlorosis apparently increased. It became an important subject of medical literature, but the true nature of the disease remained unknown. Many physicians believed that it was a result of a nervous disorder affecting various organ systems including the blood-forming organs. Iron medication became popular because of its therapeutic value, but its mode of action was controversial. Stockman in 1895 proposed that chlorosis was the result of a nutritional iron deficiency, but his view was largely ignored for decades. After World War I the incidence of chlorosis declined, and the disease ceased to be reported in the 1930s.
Subject(s)
Anemia, Hypochromic/history , Anemia, Hypochromic/epidemiology , Anemia, Hypochromic/etiology , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/epidemiology , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/etiology , Anemia, Iron-Deficiency/history , Europe/epidemiology , Female , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Humans , Incidence , Iron/physiology , Iron Deficiencies , United States/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Paracelsus (1493-1541) was a Swiss chemist and physician. As professor of medicine in Basel, he violently opposed traditional Galenic medicine and emphasized direct observation instead. His nonconformist views and rough behaviour led to his expulsion after less than a year. He led an itinerant life, practicing medicine, writing books and studying diseases of miners. Paracelcus believed in an immaterial principle, the "alchemist," that converted food into body substance. Every animal species, he believed, was endowed with its own alchemist, adapted to its needs. Paracelcus introduced chemical thinking into medicine (iatrochemistry) and nutrition. Today, he remains a controversial figure. Other Renaissance scientists (Fernel, Vesalius) criticized traditional medicine without completely rejecting it. Leonardo da Vinci developed original views on nutrition, based on his anatomical studies. His views were, however, without influence, because he did not publish.
Subject(s)
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , History, 16th Century , Humans , SwitzerlandABSTRACT
In 1935 Rudolf Schoenheimer (1898-1941) introduced the isotopic tracer technique in metabolic research. The results of his experiments led to a new view of metabolism and nutrition and the evolution of a concept of "continual regeneration," i.e., of continual release and uptake of substances by the cell and, thus, of a "dynamic state of body constituents." This dynamic view of metabolism can be traced back to the thinking of some investigators of the 19th and early 20th century, notably C. Bernard and F. G. Hopkins. It was Schoenheimer, however, who provided clear experimental evidence of the dynamic concept of metabolism.
