Mercury

Question 1

Types of mercury :

Answer 1

Inorganic mercury compounds are subdivided into elemental mercury (quicksilver), mercurous (Hg + ) salts (e.g., mercurous chloride or calomel), and mercuric (Hg 2+ ) salts (e.g., cinnabar or mercuric sulfide). Organic mercurials exist as short- and long-chained alkyl and aryl compounds. The shortchained alkyls, such as methyl mercury and ethyl mercury, are more toxic to humans, with dimethyl mercury being lethal in small amounts.

Question 2

Elemental mercury :

Answer 2

absorbed primarily by vapor inhalation. V ing elemental mercury, as from a broken thermometer or fluorescent light bulb, causes volatilization due to both the heat and the airflow through the canister.
Absorption by the GI tract is usually negligible so that swallowing mercury contained in a glass thermometer (elemental mercury) does not produce adverse effects unless the mucosa is damaged.

Question 3

Inorganic mercury salts:

Answer 3

Absorbed primarily through the GI tract, but they may also be absorbed across intact skin.
Mercuric salts deposit in the ionized form primarily in the kidney, followed by the liver and spleen. Mercury salts do not enter the CNS in consequential amounts nor do they cross the placenta.

Question 4

Organic mercury

Answer 4

primarily absorbed by the GI tract. The highly lipid-soluble short-chained alkyls easily cross membranes, accumulating in red blood cells, the CNS, liver, kidney, and fetus. Longer-chained alkyl and the aryl compounds are biotransformed into inorganic mercuric ions in the body. Therefore, toxicity with these compounds more closely resembles inorganic mercury toxicity.

Question 5

Clinical features of Elemental mercury

Answer 5

Acute symptoms following inhalation of e tal mercury vapor include shortness of breath, fever/chills, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, metallic taste, headaches, weakness, and blurry vision.
patients may develop acute lung injury and severe respiratory distress. F

Question 6

Inorganic Mercury clinical features :

Answer 6

Mercury salts are caustic, and an acute ingestion produces a severe hemorrhagic gastroenteritis with abdominal pain often associated with a characteristic graying of the oral mucosa and metallic taste. Shock and cardiovascular collapse may rapidly ensue. Acute kidney injury results from both direct toxicity of the mercury ions and from decreased renal perfusion due to shock.
Hallmarks of chronic neurologic toxicity include tremor, neurasthenia, and erethism

Question 7

Organic Mercury :

Answer 7

short-chained alkyl compounds, methyl, dimethyl, and ethyl mercury, have the most devastating effects on the CNS. After a latent period of weeks to months, orofacial paresthesias are a common initial symptom, followed by headache, tremor, and fatigue. In severe cases, patients may develop ataxia, muscle rigidity and spasticity, blindness, hearing deficits, and dementia