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.
Cinnabar is trigonal, while metacinnabar is isometric. The two minerals should not be confused with one another because metacinnabar has a metallic gray color, a gray-to-black streak and a metallic-to-submetallic luster. Cinnabar is the only important ore of mercury.For thousands of years cinnabar has been mined and heated in a furnace. The mercury escapes as a vapor that can be condensed into liquid mercury.ecause cinnabar is the only important ore of mercury, the demand for mercury has driven mining activity. Mercury has many uses, but its toxicity has reduced its use in any application where reasonable substitutes can be found.