Introduction - Uppsala Monitoring Centre

heaped on the coals he describes the results: ‘The patient then
begins to sweat the mercury with his whole substance, creeps into
him in such sort, that it causes all the slime in his body to ascend into
his mouth, infecting and corrupting all parts of the patient in such
sort, that it is pitiful to behold, so that the one after long martyrdom at
length creeps into his grave, the other becomes cripple and
deformed, the third toothless and such like miserable accidents
which are befallen them, that it would grieve a man to see, how they
have handled a number of their patients.
For mercury being used corporallie 71 , has this nature, that it both
draws all the corrupt matter of the pockes into the mouth, and
because they have dealt so disorderly therewith, taking more of it
than they ought, they have therewith, all drawn the corruption into the
mouth in such abundance that it could not have sufficient egress, but
for want thereof is returned, and has sought a place in the entrails, as
in the liver, the lungs, the milt 72 , and the stomach, etc. So that some
are fallen into the diseases of the lungs, as pleurisies, shortness of
breath, coughs, consumptions, and such other, almost altogether
incurable diseases. Other are fallen into diseases of the stomach, as
vomitings, queasiness, great and intolerable pains, and apostoms 73
of the stomach, not being able to digest any good nourishment.
Others are fallen into diseases of the liver, as the yellow jaundice, or
ictteritia 74 , the dropsies, the bloody flux, hot fiery agues and such like.
And some into the diseases of the milt, as the fever quartaine 75 , the
canckers 76 , the woolfe 77 , the leprosy, to all which diseases they were
not any way subject or inclined, until such time, as they were brought
thereto by the unskilfulness of foolish surgeons, and all these
aforesaid diseases, are altogether in manner incurable, and in the
end deadly. Wherefore I would wish every man to take heed, not to
deal with mercury in any such sort as is before expressed. But if you
71 Corporalie = orally
72 Milt = spleen
73 Apostoms = abcesses
74 Ictteritia = icterus = jaundice
75 Fever quartaine = quartan fever = fever occurring every four days usually caused by Plasmodium malariae
76 Cankers = ulceration of the mouth
77 Woolfe= probably Lupus vulgaris (tuberculosis of the skin)