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World Service,2 mins

Series In Their Element

Mercury鈥檚 unlikely role in treating syphilis

Discovery

Available for over a year

Andrew Cunningham, former professor of the History of Medicine at Cambridge, explains why mercury - a chemical element that can be highly toxic to our nervous systems - was used to treat diseases from scabies to syphilis. (Image: A blood sample with syphilis, Credit: Getty Images.)

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