HYDRARGYRUM. 91 



an 1 ulceration. But it is to be clearly understood that this 

 is not in any sense a specific effect of mercury, and that the in- 

 fluence of mercury upon inflammatory products and syphilitic 

 growths, to be presently described, is not exerted through 

 tlie blood, but upon the tissues themselves. The impoverishing 

 effect of this drug upon the blood must be constantly kept in 

 mind, and the quality of the blood sustained by abundance of 

 food, and the strictest attention to digestion. 



3. SPECIFIC ACTION. 



Mercury quickjy leaves the blood and enters the tissues, 

 where it is apt to remain almost indefinitely, being excreted 

 with comparative slowness, especially when the kidneys are 

 diseased. It has been found in every organ of the body, most 

 abundantly in the liver. It is a remarkable fact, however, 

 that no definite anatomical change has ever been demonstrated 

 in the viscera, such as the vessels, liver, or nervous system, 

 even in cases of chronic poisoning by this metal ; mercury in 

 this respect again differing from lead, silver, antimony, and 

 arsenic. Whilst, therefore, the specific action of mercury is 

 unquestionable, its mode of action is still obscure, and 

 numerous theories have been proposed to account for it, which 

 need not be fully discussed here. The most probable explana- 

 tion of the effects of mercury upon nutrition may be said to be 

 that in some way or other it interferes with the growth or life 

 of germinal cells, and that it has therefore an alterative in- 

 fluence on certain processes, such as inflammation and syphilis, 

 which are characterised by a growth of small young cells. 

 Possibly, it may have a destructive influence on certain ferments 

 and organisms connected with physiological and pathological 

 metabolism, one of these being the organism of syphilis. 



Whatever may be the explanation of its action, mercury 

 produces a train of symptoms, when given for a considerable 

 period in moderate doses, known as " hydrargyrisui," which 

 chiefly take the form of debility ; nervous phenomena, including 

 muscular tremors and paralysis, pains, and mental disturbance ; 

 cardiac depression ; ulceration of the skin, mouth and in 

 membranes; salivation, dyspepsia, and diarrhea. Tin- tem- 

 perature is not directly raised, nor the i-xeivtioiis in 

 that there is no positive evidence of increased metabolism as 

 an effect of mercury. 



4. SPECIFIC USES. 



The uses of mercury as a specific remedy bear no definite 

 relation to these effects, which have been mentioned chiefly 



