Abstract
Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 1493–1541, the Swiss physician who called himself Paracelsus, was the first clinician in Europe to suggest the prescription of chemical therapeutics in medicine (Figure 1). Paracelsus sharply broke with traditional beliefs when he applied his interest in alchemy and metals to the treatment of his patients. In so doing, he earned himself the title ‘father of pharmacology’ [1]. Zinc sulphate (sal vitrioli) was part of his pharmaceutical arsenal and was termed gilla Theophrasti [2].
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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Hoogenraad, T.U. (1998). History of zinc therapy. In: Rainsford, K.D., Milanino, R., Sorenson, J.R.J., Velo, G.P. (eds) Copper and Zinc in Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3963-2_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3963-2_1
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