Samuel Stockhausen was a German physician in the mining town of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

. He studied the ancient miner's disease, called , among workers in the nearby

mines of Rammelsberg The Rammelsberg is a mountain, high, on the northern edge of the Harz range, south of the historic town of Goslar in the North German state of Lower Saxony. The mountain is the location of an important silver, copper, and lead mine. When it close ...

in the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

mountains. In 1656 he published a book, in Latin, attributing the disease to noxious fumes from

litharge Litharge (from Greek , 'stone' + 'silver' ) is one of the natural mineral forms of lead(II) oxide, PbO. Litharge is a secondary mineral which forms from the oxidation of galena ores. It forms as coatings and encrustations with internal tetr ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

compound), ("Treatise on the Noxious Fumes of Litharge, Diseases caused by them and Miners' Asthma"). discusses Stockhausen on page 207 in the context of a history of lead poisoning. discusses Stockhausen on page 10 in the context of a history of miner's disease. Because of this he is considered by some to be the first occupational physician. see page 295 for Stockhausen Unlike his near contemporary,

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

, who also wrote about diseases of miners, Stockhausen recognized litharge-derived dust as the causative factor and recommended avoiding inhaling it. A PDF copy of the article. This was the first time that the ancient syndrome, known to Romans as , was attributed specifically to chronic poisoning with lead. The work of Stockhausen influenced Eberhard Gockel to attribute the consumption of litharge in wine as causing a similar disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stockhausen, Samuel 17th-century German physicians Occupational safety and health People in mining Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown 17th-century German writers 17th-century German male writers