Difficult choices as death nears. As the changes described in this article develop in the final days or hours of a progressive terminal illness, difficult choices may arise. There may be questions about whether to provide food and fluids, receive blood transfusions, or treat infections.
The use of mercury in thermometers dates back hundreds of years. It was widely used because it reliably expands and contracts with changes in temperatures. It is highly poisonous, however, and can enter the body through the respiratory or digestive tracts, or directly through the skin.
What is Mercury as on the Periodic Table? Definition of the Mercury ElementA silvery-white poisonous metallic element, liquid at room temperature and used in thermometers, barometers, vapor lamps, and batteries and in the preparation of chemical pesticides.t is a poisonous, metallic element. Mercury is occasionally found free in nature but usually occurs as the red sulfide ore, called cinnabar, or vermillion. The largest producer of mercury is the USA followed by Spain and Italy.