The enhanced sensitivity of chemical tests sometimes produced unforeseen and puzzling problems in 19th-century toxicology. The talk focuses on the earliest uses of the Marsh test for arsenic and the controversy surrounding “normal arsenic,” that is, the existence of traces of arsenic in healthy human bodies.
José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez lectures history of science at the University of Valencia (Spain). He is director of the new master’s program on “History of Science and Scientific Communication” (University of Valencia-CSIC, 2010–2011).
For more information, please visit CHF's Web site.