READING THE BONES

The human is a biogeochemical indicator. Our skeletons not only define our species but integrate all the good and bad factors of the environment. As a dynamic physico-chemical system the mineralized tissues, our bones and teeth, are essential to our health and record the nutrients, or lack thereof, and the hazards we are exposed to. We are learning to read the signs and signatures present in these tissues because of the availability of high resolution and sensitive techniques. It is also becoming imperative that we integrate medical and geological information. It is possible to distinguish contributions from natural occurrences relative to those brought on by human activities that bring changes to the environment.

After a brief overview of the bone mineralizing system some already documented impacts on health and disease from geologic environment and from anthropogenic contributions will be illustrated using the elements iodine (I), copper (Cu), strontium (Sr), fluorine (F), and arsenic (As).

Cooperation between geoscientists and medical/dental practitioners should enable us to mitigate future hazards and benefit human health.