A 24-year-old man attempted suicide by intravenous injection of elemental mercury. The exact quantity of injected elemental mercury was unknown. Five days later, the patient presented with painful erythema involving the anterior part of both forearms. On admission, laboratory findings disclosed the following: haemoglobin: 14.5 mmol/l, white blood cell count: 8.34 × 109/l, platelet count: 321 × 109/l, urea: 5.4 mmol/l, creatinine: 68 µmol/l; other tests, including liver tests, blood protein electrophoresis, proteinuria and urinalysis, were within normal limits. Urinary mercury was 371 µmol/l. Chest radiograph (Figures 1 and 2) showed …