Brazilian physician José Pinto de Azeredo (1766?-1810) and the chemical examination of Rio de Janeiro's atmosphere

Abstract

José Pinto de Azeredo, of Rio de Janeiro, studied medicine and conducted notable experimental research in Edinburgh (1786-88), presenting his graduate thesis on gout in Leiden. Already appointed surgeon-general of Angola, he returned to Rio in 1789 and practiced medicine in Brazil. In 1790 he moved to Luanda, where he practiced at the Hospital Real and founded a medical school that did not survive his departure for Portugal in 1797. He worked at Lisbon's main military hospital and as a private physician until his death. His written works (some ten manuscripts and five publications) warrant an examination from the perspective of the history of medicine. In an article published in 1790 on Rio de Janeiro's air quality, he reveals the skills of an analytical chemist, his interest in the effects of different air components on organisms, and his concern with air quality in Brazil and Europe.