Mercurial therapy was the historical use of mercury compounds, taken by mouth, rubbed into the skin as an ointment, or inhaled as a fumigant, most notably as the standard treatment for syphilis from the sixteenth century until the early twentieth. Physicians administered mercury on the belief that it could purge the disease from the body, despite the severe toxicity that came with prolonged use, which gave rise to the grim contemporary saying that a night with the goddess Venus meant a lifetime with the god Mercury. The treatment began to give way after German physician Paul Ehrlich and his collaborator Sahachiro Hata introduced arsphenamine, the arsenic-based compound marketed as Salvarsan, in 1910, and mercury-based syphilis treatment was finally displaced entirely once penicillin proved effective against the disease in the 1940s.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearSommariva is often credited as first to use mercury for syphilis, though the source notes he may not have been a physician. Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Mercurial therapy
WikipediaLead section, treatment-status statementQuote, Lead section, treatment-status statement
Mercurial therapy was the historical use of mercury compounds, taken by mouth, rubbed into the skin as an ointment, or inhaled as a fumigant, most notably as the standard treatment for syphilis from the sixteenth century until the early twentieth.
2. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationHistory of syphilis article, Historical treatments sectionQuote, History of syphilis article, Historical treatments section
Giorgio Sommariva of Verona is recorded to have used mercury to treat syphilis in 1496, and is often recognized as the first physician to have done so, although he may not have been a physician.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was mercury used to treat syphilis when it was so toxic?
Physicians believed it purged the disease; Salvarsan in 1910 and penicillin in the 1940s replaced it.
Physicians administered mercury on the belief that it could purge the disease from the body, despite the severe toxicity of prolonged use. It was the standard syphilis treatment from the sixteenth century until the early twentieth. It began to give way after Paul Ehrlich and Sahachiro Hata introduced arsphenamine, marketed as Salvarsan, in 1910, and was displaced entirely once penicillin proved effective in the 1940s.
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