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Medical Geology is a multi-disciplinary field of study in geology which studies the health effects of geologic materials and processes on humans. Such health effects can be good, or possibly hazardous. Medical Geology integrates professionals from medicine, geography and geology to handle problems accruing from the geology of an area. Three aspects of geology are relevant for a comprehensive study of health problems arising from the geology of a particular environment, namely: mineralogy, [[geochemistry]] and hydrogeology. Hazardous effects are caused by the excessiveness or deficiency of essential and non- essential trace elements such as: As, F-, I- , Se, Rn, Mn, Cd and Pb. For instance, excessiveness of arsenic in [[coal]]s in China has lead to a toxic effect called arsenosis– the ulceration of the hands and feet; deficiency of iodine in the soil leads to goiter –the enlargement of the thyroid gland, while the excessiveness of fluoride in rocks leading to various forms of fluorosis which can manifest in the dissolution of apatite crystals of the enamel. This multidisciplinary field of geology also probes into the benefits and banes of eating soil, clay and shale –a practice called geophagy. Through the study of Medical Geology, however, some geologic materials have been found useful in the pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic industries. These include medicinal/mineralized waters applied in the treatment of various skin diseases, such as rashes and eczema, as they contain elements such as Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, K, I, Br and Fe. Bathing in such mineralized waters―a process called balneotherapy―helps in taking these elements into the body through osmosis. Alkaline water production using tourmaline (Ca, K, Na)(Al, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn)3(Al, Cr, Fe, V)6(BO3)3(Si, Al, B)6O18(OH, F)4, and zeolite (Na2Al2Si3O10.2H2O ) is another important application of Medical Geology. Alkaline water negates the Oxidation-Reduction Potential of body toxins and increases the body pH up to 8. As most processed foodstuffs are acidic, the intake of alkaline water will raise the alkalinity of the body leading to increased longevity. Kaolin and [[bentonite]]-–the healing clays–-are applied in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases; they have net negative surface charges with which they attract toxins. Toxins are then adsorbed into the structure of the clay mineral, and thus removed. Medical Geology also has important application in the manufacture of plaster of Paris. It is produced by calcining [[gypsum]] to produce a strong material used in holding [[fracture]]d anatomical structures of the body in place until healing is completed. Production of milk of magnesia from brucite [Mg(OH)2]―magnesium hydroxide―is another important application of Medical Geology. Milk of magnesia is an antacid and interferes with the adsorption of folic acid in the stomach; it helps in maintaining the stomach pH and in the detoxification of the stomach.

Medical geology is a multi-disciplinary field of study in geology which studies the health effects of geologic materials and processes on humans. Such health effects can be good, or possibly hazardous. Medical geology integrates professionals from medicine, geography and geology to handle problems accruing from the geology of an area. Three aspects of geology are relevant for a comprehensive study of health problems arising from the geology of a particular environment, namely: mineralogy, [[geochemistry]], and hydrogeology.  

 

Hazardous effects are caused by the excessiveness or deficiency of essential and non-essential trace elements such as: As, F-, I- , Se, Rn, Mn, Cd and Pb. For instance, excessiveness of arsenic in [[coal]] in China has lead to a toxic effect called arsenosis—the ulceration of the hands and feet; deficiency of iodine in the soil leads to goiter—the enlargement of the thyroid gland, while an excess of fluoride in rocks leads to various forms of fluorosis which can manifest in the dissolution of apatite crystals of the enamel.  

 

This multidisciplinary field of geology also probes into the benefits and banes of eating soil, clay, and shale—a practice called geophagy. Through the study of medical geology, however, some geologic materials have been found useful in the pharmaceutical, medical, and cosmetic industries. These include medicinal and mineralized waters applied in the treatment of various skin diseases, such as rashes and eczema, as they contain elements such as Na, Ca, Mg, Cl, K, I, Br and Fe. Bathing in such mineralized waters―a process called balneotherapy―helps in taking these elements into the body through osmosis. Alkaline water production using tourmaline (Ca, K, Na)(Al, Fe, Li, Mg, Mn)3(Al, Cr, Fe, V)6(BO3)3(Si, Al, B)6O18(OH, F)4, and zeolite (Na2Al2Si3O10.2H2O) is another important application of Medical Geology. Alkaline water negates the Oxidation-Reduction Potential of body toxins and increases the body pH up to 8. As most processed foodstuffs are acidic, the intake of alkaline water will raise the alkalinity of the body leading to increased longevity. Kaolin and [[bentonite]]-–the healing clays–-are applied in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases; they have net negative surface charges with which they attract toxins. Toxins are then adsorbed into the structure of the clay mineral, and thus removed. Medical Geology also has important application in the manufacture of plaster of Paris. It is produced by calcining [[gypsum]] to produce a strong material used in holding [[fracture]]d anatomical structures of the body in place until healing is completed. Production of milk of magnesia from brucite [Mg(OH)2]―magnesium hydroxide―is another important application of Medical Geology. Milk of magnesia is an antacid and interferes with the adsorption of folic acid in the stomach; it helps in maintaining the stomach pH and in the detoxification of the stomach.

==Introduction to medical geology==

==Introduction to medical geology==