Medical elementology: a new scientific discipline

• DOI: 10.5414/tep24069
• Publication Date: 2011-03-25T09:41:04Z
• Authors: V. Zaichick; S. Ermidou-Pollet; S. Pollet

Cross-disciplinary approach to the role of chemical elements in human health and disease is the scope of this new field of knowledge called "Medical Elementology". This scientific discipline studies the physiological and pathological effects of changes in the level of chemical elements in human organisms and aims at the progress in knowledge about new methods of early detection of risk factors connected with higher or lower amount of elements in human body. Medical elementology research depends very much on the use of appropriate, simple, fast, precise, accurate and highly sensitive analytical methods. The continuing improvement of new physical methods has very much increased the possibilities for quantitative studies of chemical elements in biological systems. More and more interdisciplinary work is necessary to better understand the complicated field of chemical elements in biology as well as their reciprocal interdependence. We have to hope that the 21st century will be the century of the medical elementology. ©2007 Dustri-Verlag Dr. K. Feistle.