HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Correspondence: Submit a response Correspondence: View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Doherty, M. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Doherty, M. J. Related Collections History of Neurology All Toxicology

The quicksilver prize

Mercury vapor poisoning aboard HMS Triumph and HMS Phipps

From the Swedish Epilepsy Center, Seattle, WA.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. M.J. Doherty, Swedish Epilepsy Center, 801 Broadway, Suite 901, Seattle, WA 98122; e-mail: michael.doherty{at}swedish.org

In 1810, two British ships, HMS Triumph and HMS Phipps, salvaged a large load of elemental mercury from a wrecked Spanish vessel near Cadiz, Spain. The bladders containing the mercury soon ruptured. The element spread about the ships in liquid and vapor forms. The sailors presented with neurologic compromises: tremor, paralysis, and excessive salivation as well as tooth loss, skin problems, and pulmonary complaints. The events are reviewed in the context of what was known about mercury vapor inhalation.

Received June 25, 2003. Accepted in final form October 10, 2003.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. L. Nuttall Interpreting Mercury in Blood and Urine of Individual Patients Ann. Clin. Lab. Sci., July 1, 2004; 34(3): 235 - 250. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Correspondence: