Around the year 1500, medicine was considered outdated, at that time it was only known the treatment of diseases through herbs, plants and substances extracted from animals. It was not imagined that the cure for some ailments lay in mineral resources, that's when Paracelsus, whose real name was Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, played his role as a doctor and alchemist.
Paracelsus (1493-1541) emerged as the physician who would revolutionize the history of medicine. The phrase is his: “All substances are poisons, there is nothing that is not poison. Only the correct dose differentiates the poison from the medicine.” From it, the alchemist physician's ability to stipulate precise doses of medicine for the cure of diseases can be seen.
Paracelsus revealed that chemical elements such as zinc, iron, manganese could be present in our body. Contrary to what was thought at the time, minerals existed in organic form and not only in inorganic form (outside the organism). It was from there that the alchemist proposed an interaction of minerals and metals with the well-being of man, and one of his studies involved the cure of syphilis with mercury.
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At a time when syphilis afflicted countless people in Europe, around 1527, the studies of Paracelsus appear to be a miracle. This doctor, for the first time in history, used something that was neither vegetable nor animal for medical treatment. Syphilis cured by the metal mercury was a sample of this innovation and was considered the most important discovery of Paracelsus.
By Líria Alves
Graduated in Chemistry
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SOUZA, Líria Alves de. "Paracelsus: Health Scientist"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/quimica/paracelso-cientista-saude.htm. Accessed on June 28, 2021.
