HEADACHE ASSOCIATED WITH EXOGENOUS SUBSTANCES - AN IDEA 1ST CONSIDERED IN THE 18TH-CENTURY

The treatise ''De morbis artificum diatriba'' (Modena, 1700) is examined from the viewpoint of the description of headache associated with exogenous substances. The work, written by Bernardino Ramazzini (Carpi, 1633 - Padua, 1714), professor at the university of Padua from 1700 to 1714, is considered the first text which specifically deals with occupational illnesses. The Autor considers the headache as an occupational illness in several categories of workers. Particularly, in some of them, i.e. chemists, carpenters, tobacco workers, spirit or oil producers, he describes the headache as associated with exogenous substance exposure, such as the inhalation of intense odors