Research Centre on Public Health, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy.
Saf Health Work. 2012 Mar;3(1):11-6. doi: 10.5491/SHAW.2012.3.1.11. Epub 2012 Mar 8.
Lead poisoning is one of the earliest identified and most known occupational disease. Its acute effects have been recognized from antiquity when this condition principally afflicted manual workers and slaves, actually scarcely considered by the medicine of that time. The Industrial Revolution caused an epidemic of metal intoxication, urging scientists and physician of that period to study and identify specific symptoms and organ alterations related to chronic lead poisoning. During the 20th century, the acknowledgment of occupational and environmental toxicity of lead fostered public awareness and legislation to protect health. More recently, the identification of sub-clinical effects have greatly modified the concept of lead poisoning and the approaches of medicine towards this condition. Nowadays, lead poisoning is rarely seen in developed countries, but it still represents a major environmental problem in certain areas. Consequently, it may appear as a paradigm of "occupational and environmental disease," and the history of this condition seems to parallel the historical development of modern "Occupational and Environmental Health" as a more complete medical discipline.
铅中毒是最早被发现和最知名的职业病之一。其急性影响从古至今都被人们所认识，当时这种情况主要影响体力劳动者和奴隶，实际上当时的医学几乎没有考虑到这一点。工业革命导致了金属中毒的流行，促使当时的科学家和医生研究并确定与慢性铅中毒相关的特定症状和器官改变。20 世纪，对铅的职业和环境毒性的认识促进了公众意识的提高和保护健康的立法。最近，亚临床效应的确定极大地改变了铅中毒的概念和医学对这种情况的处理方法。如今，发达国家很少见到铅中毒，但在某些地区，它仍然是一个主要的环境问题。因此，它可能成为“职业和环境疾病”的范例，这种情况的历史似乎与现代“职业和环境卫生”作为一个更完整的医学学科的历史发展相平行。
