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Paracelsus (Germany)

The Stamp

The stamp was issued on 10 November 1993 in Germany to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his birth.

The Doctor

Born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493 - 1541) in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, he was later called Paracelsus.

He travelled extensively throughout Europe and practiced medicine in the army and as a civilian. He is called the father of toxicology and famously wrote:

All things are poison and nothing is without poison; only the dose makes a thing not a poison. "

This is often condensed to “the dose makes the poison” and has become one of the fundamental tenets of toxicology.

He also, controversially, rejected the works of Hippocrates and Galen.

Urology Connections 

Paracelsus thought urinalysis vital in diagnosis. However, he rejected the old technique of uroscopy and proposed early chemical analysis.

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