Gastrointestinal Absorption of Metallic Mercury

Abstract

The absorption of mercury from the gastrointestinal systems of 7 subjects, of whom none had any amalgam fillings, was examined in this study. The authors obtained quantitative information about mercury concentration in plasma and duodenal fluid after the gastrointestinal systems of the subjects were exposed to liquid elemental mercury enclosed in rubber balloons (i.e., approximately 20 g of mercury), using a standard procedure followed for the sampling of bile. Plasma samples were collected prior to exposure, as well as up to 10 d following exposure, and duodenal fluid was collected 1 h, 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h during the intubation process. The authors studied the kinetics of dissolution in vitro by leaching elemental liquid mercury and mercuric chloride. The results of this study supported the hypothesis that metallic mercury is oxidized in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the authors determined that duodenal intubation, while using liquid metallic mercury in rubber bags, resulted in the diffusion of minor amounts of atomic elemental mercury through the rubber walls. The absorbed amount of mercury that reached the central circulation was comparable to a daily dose of mercury from dental amalgam in the amalgam-bearing population.