ABSTRACT
The endemicity of some diseases in certain geographical areas has been known since ancient times. The Hindu medical system, Ayurveda, mentions several cases in this regard. The prevalence of goiter in the foothills of the Himalayas, and ways of ameliorating the disease, are parts of the common medical knowledge in India. Geoenvironment-related disease endemicity is covered under the subject of ‘Geomedicine’. Lag defines geomedicine as the ‘science dealing with the influence of ordinary environmental factors on the geographical distribution of health problems in man and animals’. Living organisms are largely composed of just four elements, namely, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Macrominerals (Ca, P, S, K, Cl and Mg) constitute another important group constituting the living matter. Minamata disease was first reported from Minamata, Japan, in 1953. Mercury-bearing effluents from a plastics factory were discharged into the Minamata Bay. Mercury got methylated in the water-sediment environment and was picked up by fish.
