37 Is Mother Nature out to Get You? Medical Geology Issues in the Mid-Continent

Tuesday, 13 April 2010
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Compton Ferry

DANIEL DRAKE′S CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICAL GEOLOGY

Paper number: 37-2
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:15 AM – 8:30 AM

Authors

  • Syed E. Hasan Presenting Author
    University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Abstract

Daniel Drake, born in 1785 in Kentucky, was trained as a physician and practiced medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio until his death in 1850. He wrote a two-volume treatise titled Principle Diseases of the Interior Valley of North America that marks the most comprehensive study on the occurrence of various diseases, their likely cause, symptoms, and remedy. The exhaustive study, running into 1,763 pages, was organized in two volumes. Volume 1 is a detailed study of the natural history of the U.S. Midwest while volume 2 deals with diseases. The first half of the 19th century was a time when the “germ theory” was not known and the cause of diseases was generally attributed to the quality of air, water, diet, social, and cultural factors. Although the field of medical geology was nonexistent, physicians, both in Europe and the U.S., drew upon principles of geosciences to find cause of diseases. Medical geography, developed during the 18th century, had reached its zenith by the mid-19th century, but gradually declined, because the physicians who were its sole contributors shifted their focus from the environment to germs as leading cause of diseases.

Daniel Drake undertook extensive field work to observe and collect data on the physical features of the land and its control on occurrence of diseases over five summers beginning in May 1836. He started writing the book in 1844 and the first volume was published in April 1850. Before his death in the same year, he had completed work on the 2nd volume that was published posthumously in September, 1854.

Drake believed that many diseases were restricted to climate, locality or society. Despite being a physician, Drake work could as well be ascribed to a geologist due to his insightful observations, detailed description of geologic features, and extensive use of maps. Volume 1 contains 19 maps including a geomorphic cross section of the Valley from the Appalachians to the Rockies.

The presentation reviews the works of Drake and why it should be viewed as the earliest contribution to medical geology.