Samuel Stockhausen was a German physician in the mining town of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Goslar and located on the northwestern slopes of the Harz mountain range. The Old Town of Goslar and the Mines ...

. He studied the ancient miner's disease, called Hüttenkatze, 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, the only min ...

in the

Harz The Harz () 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'' derives from the Middle High German ...

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

litharge Litharge (from Greek lithargyros, lithos (stone) + argyros (silver) ''λιθάργυρος'') 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 c ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

compound), ''Libellus de lithargyrii fumo noxio morbifico, ejusque metallico frequentiori morbo vulgò dicto die Hütten Katze oder Hütten Rauch'' (“Treatise on the Noxious Fumes of

Litharge Litharge (from Greek lithargyros, lithos (stone) + argyros (silver) ''λιθάργυρος'') 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 c ...

, 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 ''morbi metallici'', was attributed specifically to chronic poisoning with lead. The work of Stockhausen influenced Eberhard Gockel to attribute the consumption of

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