ALCHEMICAL AND IATRO-CHEMICAL ASPECT OF INDIAN MEDICAL SYSTEM: A MEDICAL GEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Medical geology is relatively a new and emerging branch of medical history and history in general. As the term itself suggests it intersects the fields of medicine, geology, and history. It includes various aspects related to how geological factors impact human health. Such aspects are defined as geo – etiology, geomedicines, geo- toxicity, medical alchemy and medical iatro chemy etc. Though as a branch of history it is a less explored field, geological substances have been vastly used in ayurveda and Rasa shastra for therapeutic purpose. This paper examines the historical and scientific foundations of alchemical and iatro-chemical practices in India, analyses key substances used, and evaluates their relevance to modern interdisciplinary research in medical geology.