MERCURY. 
§ 878 .] 
The second case—a young man, aged 23, working in the same 
laboratory—was admitted into the hospital, March 28th, 1865. In the 
previous January he had been exposed to the vapour of mercuric 
methide for about a fortnight ; during the illness of the other assistant 
he felt ill and weak, and complained of soreness of the gums and loose¬ 
ness of the teeth. He had also dimness of vision, pain and redness of 
the eyes, giddiness, nausea and vomiting, the ejected matters being 
greenish and watery. At the beginning of March his sight and taste 
became imperfect—all things tasted alike ; his tongue was numb and 
his gums sore ; he was also salivated slightly. A week before admission 
he lost his hearing, and first his hands and then his feet became numb ; 
on admission his breath was very offensive, his pupils dilated, the sight 
impaired ; he was very deaf, and his powers of speech, taste, and smell 
were deficient. There was anaesthesia of the body, and the movement of 
the limbs was sluggish and difficult. He continued in the hospital for 
nearly a month, with but little change. On April 24th, it was noticed 
that he was getting thinner and slightly jaundiced ; he moved his arms 
aimlessly in an idiotic manner, and passed his urine involuntarily. On 
April 27th he was more restless, and even violent, shrieking out, and 
making a loud, incoherent noise, or laughing foolishly ; he passed his 
motions and urine beneath him. On July 7th he was in a similar state 
—perfectly idiotic. He died on April 7th, 1866, about a year and three 
months from his first exposure to the vapour ; the immediate cause of 
death was pneumonia. The post-mortem appearances of the brain and 
membranes differed little from the normal state ; the grey matter was 
pink, but otherwise healthy ; there was a considerable amount of 
cerebro-spinal fluid ; the arachnoid along the longitudinal fissure was 
thickened ; the total weight of the brain with medulla was 41 ozs. The 
stomach was of enormous size ; the pyramids of the kidneys were con¬ 
gested, as was also the small intestine ; the lungs showed the usual signs 
of pneumonia. 1 
§ 878. Effects of the Corrosive Salts of Mercury.— The type of the 
corrosive salts is mercuric chloride, or corrosive sublimate—a compound 
which acts violently when administered, either externally or internally, 
in large doses. 2 If the poison has been swallowed, the symptoms come 
on almost immediately, and always within the first half-hour ; the whole 
duration also is rapid. In 36 cases collected by F. A. Falck, 11 died on 
the first or second day, and 11 on the fifth day ; so that 61 per cent, died 
in five days—the remainder lived from six to twenty-six days. The 
1 St Barth. Hosp. Reports, ii. 211. 
2 The effects on animals are similar to those on man. Richard Mead gave a dog 
with bread 3*8 grms. (CO grains) of corrosive sublimate. “ Within a quarter of an 
hour he fell into terrible convulsions, casting up frequently a viscid frothy mucus, 
every time more and more bloody, till, tired and spent with this hard service, he lay 
down quietly, as it were, to sleep, but died the next morning.’' 
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