Morphologische und toxikologische Befunde nach intravenöser Injektion metallischen Quecksilbers

Abstract

At the autopsy of a 25-year-old man who had died from combined morphine and cocaine intoxication, depositions of metallic mercury were incidentally found in the myocardium of the right ventricular septum and posterior wall. Deposits, toxicologically identified as mercury, were also found radiologically and histologically in the lungs. All these deposits were probably the result of intravenous injections of mercury many months previously, as is known to be done occasionally by addicts. Judging by the histological picture the greatest proportion of the mercury collected in the right ventricular cavity after injection, a smaller amount by embolization in the small pulmonary arteries. The mercury spheres which came to lie in the right ventricle then penetrated into the myocardium, moving outward and causing a chronic and partly transmural inflammatory response.

Environmental Mercury and Its Toxic Effects

“…Indeed, mercury levels in the heart tissue of individuals who died from idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were found to be on average 22 000 times higher than in individuals who died of other forms of heart disease [25,26]. Mercury poisoning may also cause chest pain or angina, especially in individuals under age 45 [26].…”

Human Mercury Exposure in Yanomami Indigenous Villages from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Moreover, mercury can cause kidney damage, including acute tubular necrosis, glomerulonephritis, chronic renal disease, renal cancer, and nephrotic syndrome [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. Additionally, mercury accumulation in the heart is associated with cardiomyopathy [ 9 , 10 ].…”