Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim (Paracelsus) (1493-1541): The eminent physician and pioneer of toxicology

Spyros N Michaleas; Konstantinos Laios; Gregory Tsoucalas; Georges Androutsos

doi:10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.02.012

Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim (Paracelsus) (1493-1541): The eminent physician and pioneer of toxicology

Toxicol Rep. 2021 Feb 23:8:411-414. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2021.02.012. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Spyros N Michaleas¹, Konstantinos Laios², Gregory Tsoucalas³, Georges Androutsos⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of History of Medicine and Medical Deontology, Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece.
² Department of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
³ History of Medicine, Anatomy Department, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
⁴ Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Abstract

Theophrastus Bombastus Von Hohenheim known as Paracelsus was a German-Swiss homo universalis, or Renaissance man, whose interests included medicine, chemistry and toxicology. Characterized as a rebellious and great reformer of established medicine of his era, Paracelsus preferred observing nature, over studying ancient texts to find appropriate treatments for various diseases. He also used unconventional curative methods, such as minerals and other inorganic substances, which caused much controversy among his contemporaries. The main purpose of this article is to highlight his contribution on toxicology and the use of mercury.

Keywords: Alchemy; Chemistry; History of toxicology; Medicine; Mercury; Paracelsus; Toxicity.