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How did Hippocrates describe lead poisoning in metal workers?
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occupational disease
The lung disease asbestosis is caused primarily by prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibers. It occurs mainly among workers whose occupations involve exposure to asbestos and people who live near mines, factories, and construction sites.
The third book of Epidemics, a work attributed to the Greek physician Hippocrates, contains what may be the first recorded observation of an occupational disease. In this text, he describes a case of severe lead colic suffered by a worker who extracted metals.1
While Hippocrates identified this specific instance, physicians of antiquity generally showed little concern for the health of workers, and it was not until much later that the study of work-related illnesses became a formal medical discipline.1