Samuel Stockhausen was a German physician in the mining town of Goslar. He studied the ancient miner's disease, called , among workers in the nearby mines of Rammelsberg in the Harz mountains. In 1656 he published a book, in Latin, attributing the disease to noxious fumes from litharge (a lead 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, 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.
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