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Significance of mercury in the environment

  • Conference paper
Residue Reviews/Rückstands-Berichte

Part of the book series: Residue Reviews ((RECT,volume 42))

Abstract

Mercury and cinnabar have been known and used by man for nearly three milleniums. Man has used vermillion or cinnabar as a pigment or cosmetic since prehistoric times. The first written account of the use of mercury was by Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. when he mentioned its use in religious ceremonies. The great Arab physicians used mercury compounds as medicine as early as the 6th century B.C. (ENGEL 1967). Mercury compounds were also used as medicine by Dioscorides Pedanius, a Greek physician,in the 1st century B.C. and by Rhazes (852–932), Mesue (925–1015), and Avicenna (980–1037) for the treatment of various skin diseases. Paracelsus (1493–1541), the founder of modern chemotherapy, introduced the use of mercury for the treatment of syphilis. Some mercury compounds, both organic and inorganic, are still being used effectively and safely to treat various infections and disorders.

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  1. Contribution No.446, Canada Agriculture Research Station, University Campus, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    J. G. Saha

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Saha, J.G. (1972). Significance of mercury in the environment. In: Gunther, F.A. (eds) Residue Reviews/Rückstands-Berichte. Residue Reviews, vol 42. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-8482-7_4

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