[Environmental health. Medical aspects--children's unique vulnerability--perception of the environment]

It is recognized that humans are participants in complex ecosystems and that their potential for health is proportional to the health function of those ecosystems ("ecosystem health"). From the medical viewpoint this close connection between environment and health is outlined acknowledging that man-made environmental degradation may lead to human illness. This is the very object of the "environmental medicine" which should also take into account psycho-philosophical aspects related to the affective perception of our environment and its degradation. Data are reviewed on the special vulnerability of children as an example of groups within the population who are particularly sensitive to toxic hazards in the environment. The vulnerability of infants and children reflects the unique patterns of exposure to environmental hazards, coupled with the inherent fragility of their developmental processes. Given this example, the concept is explored that certain groups within our population, most notably children, are deserving of special protection in risk assessment, law, and regulation. As physicians, we should use prudence when counselling our patients, especially pregnant mothers, about avoidance of exposures to chemicals of unknown and untested toxic potential.