What is "iatrochemistry"

Iatrochemistry \I*a`tro*chem"is*try\, n. Chemistry applied to, or used in, medicine; -- used especially with reference to the doctrines in the school of physicians in Flanders, in the 17th century, who held that health depends upon the proper chemical relations of the fluids of the body, and who endeavored to explain the conditions of health or disease by chemical principles.

n. (context chemistry medicine English) An early branch of chemistry, having roots in alchemy, that tried to provide chemical remedies to diseases; alternatively, the application of chemistry to medical theory.

Iatrochemistry (or chemical medicine) is a branch of both chemistry and medicine. The word "iatro" was the Greek word for "physician" or "medicine." Having its roots in alchemy, iatrochemistry seeks to provide chemical solutions to diseases and medical ailments.

This area of science has fallen out of use in Europe since the rise of modern establishment medicine. However, iatrochemistry was popular between 1525 and 1660, especially in Flanders. Its most notable leader was Paracelsus, an important Swiss alchemist of the 16th century. Iatrochemists believed that physical health was dependent on a specific balance of bodily fluids. Iatrochemical therapies and concepts are still in wide use in South Asia, East Asia and amongst their diasporic communities worldwide.