The historical background of clinical chemistry

The discipline of chemical pathology, earlier known as pathological chemistry, arose from the attempt to apply chemistry to medicine. Two main origins of the subject can be identified: the development of scientific research in medicine, and the emergence of organic chemistry and physiological chemistry. The development of clinical chemistry and its two historical roots in the 19th century are traced from their beginnings, together with the contributions from biology and natural philosophy. A vitalistic view of chemistry in the biosciences, the identification of natural products and the study of their metabolism all favoured the early establishment of clinical chemistry at the end of the first half of the 19th century. This was followed by a rise of fundamental research in physiological chemistry, while clinical laboratories remained as application-orientated adjuncts of clinical medicine, with the task of diagnosis.