THE HUMAN MINE

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 March 1934, Page 2

THE HUMAN MINE

METALS IN THE BODY. Speaking to the Staffordshire branch of the British Medical Association, Dr. J. H. Sheldon, of the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton, recently ,gave a list ipf metals that may be found in the human body that described research work he had been doing in the discovery of these. There is lead in the eye, silver in the thyroid gland, affid there may be tin in the tongue, but why they are all there is a mystery which science is only just beginning to probe. The list of minerals which may be found in the body, Dr. Sheldon stated, has been almost indefinitely extended. It includes “silicon,” which is very nearly glass; arsenic, which is quite definitely lethal; and manganese, which we should be more inclined to look for in steel. In deciphering these elements in the /body, Dr. Sheldon has himself played an important part, and in his address ‘he paid tribute to the valuable work 'of Mr H. Ramage, of Norwich, who has made use of the most delicate methods of light analysis for the same purpose. Silver has a stimulating effect on the growth of watercress, and causes a precocious development of the nico-tine-secreting haiirs .of the tobacco plant, while having stunting effect on the roots. The thyroid gland, which in hitman beings is connected with growth, is esspecially rich in silver. So are the tonsils, which are particularly active in childhood. Zinc, which we chiefly associate with galvanised iron, is also found in all tissues, and, at least in the rat, is essential,! to normal reproduction. Manganese is found in the blood and ■suprarenal glands, which play an important part in the control of the entire “sympathetic” nervous system. Although poisonous gas, bromine is constantly present in the blood. But in cases of “mania depressive psychosis,” the amount is cut down to half. Bromine may also be connected with old age, for the amount in the blood decreases after the age of 45, and by 75 only the merest trace can be found. “It is hardly realised,” Dr Sheldon states, “how much the balance of the ’trace” elements may be altered in our diet by the widespread use of various chemical fertilisers and insecticides. There can be little doubt that, with advance in knowledge, this will need investigation.”

In conclusion, Dr. Sheldon states that the body cannot be regarded as a democracy, but is rather an oligarchy, in which a large number of passive elements are ordered and governed by a smaill minority of active ones. “The biological investigation of these very active elements,” he ends his survey, “cannot but be fruitful.”