MERCURIALISM 287 



metals is devoid of physiological action. Several pounds 

 which were formerly given to human and veterinary patients 

 for the removal of obstruction of the bowels, produce only 

 mechanical effects. In a state of fine division it is, however, 

 oxidised and dissolved, and hence acquires activity. Mer- 

 curial vapours thus speedily become poisonous, as was 

 strikingly illustrated in the case of the Triumph man-of-war 

 and the Phipps schooner, which received on board several 

 tons of quicksilver, saved from the wreck of a vessel near 

 Cadiz in 1809. From the rotten bags the mercury escaped, 

 and within three weeks two hundred men were salivated, 

 two died, and all the animals cats, dogs, sheep, fowls, a 

 canary bird, and even the rats, mice, and cockroaches were 

 destroyed (Pereira) . Men working with the metal frequently 

 suffer from mercurial poisoning. Out of 516 workmen 

 employed at the quicksilver works at Idria, 122 were, in 

 1856, affected with dyspepsia, scrofula, anaemia, neuralgia, 

 mercurial gout, tremor, and caries. The finely-divided 

 mercury so pervaded the atmosphere that cows feeding in 

 the neighbourhood of the furnaces suffered from excessive 

 secretion of saliva, became unthrifty, and aborted ; the 

 calves were also often ailing ; while trout in adjacent 

 reservoirs, contaminated by the waste products of the 

 furnaces, lost their red spots and became sickly. 



Mercurialism or chronic poisoning in all animals consists 

 in a persistent condition of anaemia, prostration, and wasting ; 

 secretion and excretion are increased. The abundant flow 

 of saliva so notable in man is not, however, observed to the 

 same extent amongst the lower animals. The mouth becomes 

 tender ; the gums red, soft, and swollen ; the breath foetid. 

 There is impaired appetite, nausea, gradual loss of condition, 

 oedema, and general weakness. The heart action is enfeebled 

 and respiration impaired. The faeces, increased in quantity, 

 are largely mixed with mucus, and are very offensive. There 

 may be diarrhoea and attacks of colic. The joints are often 

 stiff and painful. The urine is often increased, and it may 

 contain albumin and casts. There is marked pallor of the 

 mucous membranes, anaemia, and a fast, weak pulse. In man 

 there occur peculiar tremors, passing into paralysis, and 

 affecting certain muscles and groups of muscles. Percivall 



