Zinc deficiency may also be a causal factor in age-related vision deterioration. The mineral is important for immune function, white blood cell formation, egg fertilization, cell division, and a host of other enzymatic reactions. It is the second-most abundant metal in the body, after iron. Zinc is an essential mineral for human health.Because zinc is often found with copper, the metal's use was more common as an alloy rather than as a pure element. However, artifacts do exist proving its early use, including a sheet of Athenian zinc, dating back to 300 BCE. Although zinc was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans, it was not as common as iron or copper, probably because the element boils away prior to reaching the temperature required to extract it from ore.According to the International Zinc Association (ITA), zinc was recognized as a unique substance in India by 1374 and is believed to have been discovered by Indian metallurgists before 1000 BCE. While Champion may have been the first to isolate zinc, smelting of the element had been in practice in India since the 9th century BCE. However, English metallurgist William Champion had actually patented his process for isolating zinc several years earlier. Andreas Marggraf is credited with isolating the element zinc in 1746, by heating calamine ore and carbon together in a closed vessel. The element name is believed to come from the German word "zinke," which means "pointed." This is likely a reference to the pointed zinc crystals that form after zinc is smelted. Paracelsus, a Swiss-born, German Renaissance physician, alchemist, and astrologer, is credited with giving zinc its name.Sometimes zinc is considered to be a post-transition metal. Zinc has the element symbol Zn and atomic number 30, making it a transition metal and the first element in Group 12 of the periodic table.
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