Traditional knowledge and practice of the Triassic variegated clay from Silesia (Krasiejów), Poland, in human medicine.

Background: Krasiejów clay (in German: Krascheow) became famous following the discovery of numerous fossilised bones of Upper Triassic amphibians and reptiles, which have been extracted from clay deposits since the 1980s. These organic remnants remained in Krasiejów clay due to the large amount of slime deposits and the optimal concentration of basal mineral salts. The main aims of the paper are to determine the historical evolution of the use of clay in Silesia for therapeutic purposes and to provide a summary of the historical uses of Krasiejów clay as a medical treatment, based on the knowledge of the local population.

Historical ethnopharmacology of the herbalists from Krummhübel in the Sudety Mountains (seventeenth to nineteenth century), Silesia.

Background: Krummhübel (after 1945, Karpacz) in the Sudety Mountains (now SW Poland) was called "the village of pharmacists". At the end of the seventeenth century, there were 57 households, of which about 40 were inhabited by herbalists. Krummhübel herbalists were the first in the Sudety region who applied medicinal mixtures for the treatment of various diseases (using, among others, plants, oils, minerals and even viper venom) in contrast to previous herbalists who only indicated the use of individual plant species for specific diseases.

The Jewish doctors involved in the development of health resorts in eastern Galicia at the late 19th and early 20th century (Central and Eastern Europe).

Background: The involvement of Jewish doctors and scientists in the development of health resorts in eastern Galicia (part of the Austrian monarchy after 1772, and since 1918 as part of independent Poland, now part of Ukraine) is unquestionable; however, awareness of this fact is not that common. Meanwhile, also due to their work and activity, small borderland resorts became important medical, cultural and social centers of the region. The involvement of Jewish doctors in the development of Galician health resorts resulted from, among others, the rich and multi-layered tradition and integration of Judaism with the hygiene regulations and moral principles of the religion.