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La Medicina Del Lavoro Feb 2019.
UNLABELLED
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BACKGROUND:
In the 1950s, occupational medicine and occupational psychology found a common field of action in the Clinica del Lavoro in Milan. OBJECTIVES This study aims to analyze and document how this encounter took place and, in particular, the contribution of the Clinica del Lavoro to the development of occupational psychology in Italy.
METHODS:
Historical sources of that period were investigated.
RESULTS:
Before the 1950s, experimental psychology was only taught at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. The first professor of clinical psychology in the School of Medicine at the State University of Milan, was Marcello Cesa-Bianchi (1926-2018). He collaborated with the graphic, textile and pharmaceutical industries for the personnel training and management, and carried out important research in occupational psychology on behalf of the European Coal and Steel Community. The Chair of Clinical Psychology was initially located in the Clinica del Lavoro and the activity of the team of Cesa-Bianchi was oriented towards the elaboration of professional profiles and job analysis. In those years Cesa-Bianchi also conducted pioneering research in the field of psycho-gerontology.
CONCLUSIONS:
The historical experience that integrated psychology and occupational medicine in the scientific context of Milan contains a series of values, useful to today’s reflection and practice. Our work also undelines the importance of preserving historical documents: only a better knowledge of history can guarantee a better destiny.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Male; Occupational Medicine; Psychology; World War II
PubMed: 30794250
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110i1.7799 -
Proceedings of the Royal Society of... May 1965
Topics: Environment; Environmental Health; Humans; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 14283879
DOI: No ID Found -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Dec 2019.
UNLABELLED
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BACKGROUND:
The Clinica del Lavoro of Milan provided several contributions to industrial hygiene and occupational toxicology during the twentieth century.
OBJECTIVES:
Describe the first years of the laboratory of industrial hygiene of Milan through three figures who played a leading role: Enrico Carlo Vigliani, Nicola Zurlo and Gianmario Cavagna.
METHODS:
Scientific literature of the period 1948-1970 was investigated, also interviewing first-hand witnesses of that period.
RESULTS:
Enrico Vigliani was the first European scholar to understand the importance of a laboratory of industrial hygiene within his institution. Thanks to the support of private (Montecatini) and public (INAIL) institutions he succeeded in creating a laboratory in 1948. Nicola Zurlo, who directed this structure in the first thirty years, conducted innovative studies on chronic mercury intoxication, lead intoxication and silicosis, designing and creating instruments for capturing and analyzing atmospheric dust and protection devices. He conducted analysis of the health effects of organophosphorus insecticides and started to study the air pollution. Zurlo also provided an epistemological and methodological content to the discipline. Gianmario Cavagna, one of the first Italian toxicologists, contributed to the discovery of the origin of fevers caused by the inhalation of metal fumes and to the studies on the pathogenesis of byssinosis, hypothesizing a role of bacterial endotoxins in the genesis of this disease.
CONCLUSIONS:
The contributions provided by these three protagonists to industrial hygiene and occupational toxicology were relevant and made in those years the Clinica del Lavoro of Milan as a landmark, not only in Italy but also abroad.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Laboratories; Lead Poisoning; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 31846445
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110iS1.8875 -
American Journal of Public Health May 2020
Topics: Built Environment; Environmental Medicine; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Exposure; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine; Safety Management; Workplace
PubMed: 32267744
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2020.305625 -
International Journal of Occupational... Jun 2012
Topics: Environmental Health; Humans; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 22528539
DOI: 10.2478/s13382-012-0026-6 -
British Medical Journal (Clinical... Jul 1983
Topics: Education, Medical, Graduate; Humans; Occupational Health Services; Occupational Medicine; State Medicine; United Kingdom
PubMed: 6409262
DOI: 10.1136/bmj.287.6387.241 -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Dec 2019.
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Topics: Academies and Institutes; History, 20th Century; Industry; Italy; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 31846443
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110iS1.8677 -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Dec 2019.
UNLABELLED
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INTRODUCTION:
The Clinica del Lavoro, the first clinic for occupational diseases of the world, was inaugurated in Milan on 20 March 1910; its first director was Luigi Devoto, who was in charge until 1935. The purpose of this work is to review the activities of industrial hygiene and toxicology carried out at the Clinica del Lavoro under the guidance of Devoto.
METHODS:
Documents published by the Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, a group of clinics of which the Clinica del Lavoro was part, record the birth and organization of this structure and the presence of a laboratory of chemistry; documents by Devoto and other authors were also retrieved to extrapolate specific information on activities of industrial hygiene and toxicology.
RESULTS:
The Clinica del Lavoro, at the time of its inauguration, included four laboratories: of chemistry, clinical physics, histopathology and bacteriology. The chemistry lab was located on the first floor and was composed of 6 well-lit rooms, modernly equipped with work benches that could accommodate 12 people. In Devoto’s view, the chemistry laboratory, supported by that of clinical physics, had to assess the toxicological properties of chemicals commonly found in the workplace and to reveal the mechanisms of induction of damage to humans. In the first 30 years of activity, the Clinica del Lavoro investigated various diseases deriving from exposure to chemical agents, including saturnism, or lead intoxication, mercurialism, phosphorism, benzolism, sulfocarbonism, dust diseases. Several assays were developed and applied to measure toxicants in different biological and environmental mean as evidenced by scientific publications starting from 1920.
CONCLUSION:
In Devoto’s view, industrial hygiene and toxicology were essential tools for the research and prevention of occupational diseases since the first years of activity of the Clinica del Lavoro.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Lead Poisoning; Occupational Diseases; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine; Workplace
PubMed: 31846444
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110iS1.8814 -
Occupational and Environmental Medicine Nov 1997
Topics: Aging; Environmental Medicine; Humans; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 9538345
DOI: 10.1136/oem.54.11.769 -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Dec 2019.
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Topics: Academies and Institutes; History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine; Workplace
PubMed: 31846446
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110iS1.9009