Table (Personalities)

• Shen Nong:

  • Mythological originator of Chinese herbal medicine
  • Tasted hundreds of herbs daily to identify toxic, therapeutic, and edible ones
  • Author of Divine Farmer's Classic of Materia Medica
• Sushruta:

  • Indian Physician
  • Volume 5 of his medical and surgical compendium, Sus´rutasamhita, contains chapters related to poisons and poisoning, including advice on medical treatment of snake bites and insect bites
• Cleopatra:

  • Story of death from an asp (Egyptian cobra)
  • Contributed to toxicology by exploring alternative explanations for her death, including poisoning
• Mithridates VI:

  • Ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus
  • Experimented with poisons and antidotes, including on himself
  • Formulated Mithridatium, a mixture of chemicals with protecting and detoxifying effects
• Nicander of Colophon:

  • Greek poet and physician
  • Author of Theriaka and Alexipharmaka, works on poisons
  • Theriaka discusses poisonous creatures, including snakes, spiders, scorpions, insects, lizards, and fish
  • Alexipharmaka treats toxins from botanical, mineral, and animal kingdoms
• Socrates:

  • Greek philosopher
  • Died by drinking hemlock, a toxic plant
• Alexander the Great:

  • Cause of death remains unclear, with rumors of poisoning
• Dioscorides:

  • Physician who produced De materia medica, a comprehensive herbal reference
  • Grouped poisons into animal, plant, and mineral types
• Galen:

  • Roman physician who developed Galeni Theriaca
  • Writings discussed theriac compounds and tested them on roosters
• Locusta:

  • Infamous for poisoning during political intrigue in ancient Rome
  • Taught others the skill of poisoning
• Sulla:

  • Roman military and political leader who enacted laws against poisoning
• Venetian Council of Ten:

  • Governing entity in Venice known for secret courts and executions using poison
• Catherine de’Medici:

  • Accused of using poison for political purposes in France
• The Borgias:

  • Infamous Italian family linked to crimes, including poisoning
• Catherine Deshayes (La Voisin):

  • Known witch specializing in poisoning, abortion, and dark rituals
• Giulia Tofana:

  • 17th-century Italian poisoner known for Aqua Tofana
  • Offered poison to women seeking separation from spouses
• Moises Maimonides:

  • Jewish philosopher who wrote Treatise on Poisons and their Antidotes
• Avicenna:

  • Renowned physician who wrote "Canon of Medicine" covering venoms and poisons
• Georgius Agricola:

  • Known as "the father of mineralogy" for De Re Metallica
• Paracelsus:

  • Studied hazardous effects of chemicals and criticized mercury use
• Jan Baptist Van Helmont:

  • Acknowledged the presence of secret poisons in nature
• Jan Baptist Van Helmont:

  • Acknowledged that almost everything in nature has some secret poison but also a core of goodness
  • Referred to the Bible and medical alchemical theories to support his views and ways to remove poison
• Girolamo Cardano:

  • Offered a careful analysis on the relationship between poison and putrefaction
• Andrea Bacci:

  • Argued against a universal definition of poison
  • Stated that poison's unusual powers made it similar to other natural substances like the magnet
• Bernardino Ramazzini:

  • Known as the Father of Occupational Medicine
  • Published "De Morbis Artificum Diatriba," the first comprehensive work on occupational diseases
• Karl Wilhelm Scheele:

  • Discovered oxygen before Joseph Priestley
  • Credited with discovering hydrofluoric, hydrocyanic, and arsenic acids
• Johann David Metzger and Valentine Rose:

  • Discovered methods for detecting elemental arsenic and arsenic oxides in fluids and tissues
• Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila:

  • Authored "Traite des poisons," a popular toxicology textbook
  • Extracted sections on antidotes and treatments for lay audiences
• Marie Lafarge:

  • Involved in a landmark case of poisoning her husband with arsenic, significant in forensic toxicology
• Claude Bernard:

  • Demonstrated the mechanism of action of curare and studied toxicological properties of neuroactive compounds
• Marie Curie and Radium:

  • Discovered radium and conducted research on its properties and radioactive decay
• Frances Oldham Kelsey:

  • Prevented the approval of thalidomide in the US, which caused severe birth defects in other countries
• Richard Mead:

  • Author of the first English book solely on poisons, "A Mechanical Account of Poisons in Several Essays"
  • Described signs and symptoms of snake envenomation, performed chemical tests on venom, and experimented on snakes and other animals
• Percivall Pott:

  • Linked chimney sweeps' profession to scrotal cancer, contributing to the science of epidemiology
• James Marsh:

  • Developed the Marsh test, a method for detecting arsenic
• Francois Magendie:

  • Made pioneering contributions in neuroscience, neurosurgery, and experimental physiology
  • Studied the effects of drugs on the body, advancing toxicology
• Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann:

  • Discovered a test for arsenic oxide
• Robert Christison:

  • Investigated oxalic acid poisoning, arsenic, lead, opium, and hemlock
  • Published "Treatise on Poisons," making important contributions in nephrology
• Pietro d’Abano:

  • Compiled a treatise, De venenis, dedicated to poisons and their remedies
  • Sought to return to the pure Greek roots of toxicology
• Gerolamo Mercuriale:

  • Focused on reconciling ancient and contemporary definitions of poison