Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Mercury
Mercury is an element that is found in air, water and soil. It has several forms. Metallic mercury is a shiny, silver-white, odorless liquid. If heated, it is a colorless, odorless gas. It also combines with other elements to form powders or crystals. Mercury is in many products. Metallic mercury is used in glass thermometers, silver dental fillings, and button batteries. Mercury salts may be used in skin creams and ointments. It's also used in many industries.
Mercury in the air settles into water. It can pass through the food chain and build up in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish. The nervous system is sensitive to all forms of mercury. Exposure to high levels can damage the brain and kidneys. Pregnant women can pass the mercury in their bodies to their babies.
It is important to protect your family from mercury exposure:
- Carefully handle and dispose of products that contain mercury
- Limit your consumption of fish with higher levels of mercury
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
It sits within Poisoning, Toxicology, Environmental Health.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Mercury
33 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Quicksilver II Pilot StudyMount Sinai Hospital, Canada
- Environmental Factors Associated With Peripheral Neuropathies in French GuianaAdmin CIC
- Chemo-immunotherapy in Patients With Resectable Merkel Cell Carcinoma Prior to SurgeryGruppo Oncologico del Nord-Ovest
- Assessing Toxic Metal Exposure From Vegetarian/Vegan, Omnivorous, and Low-carb Diets in Israel.Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
- The Jinling CohortNanjing Shihejiyin Technology, Inc.
Research already completed
- Evaluation of a Multi-Component Intervention to Support HIV Testing and Linkage to Services Among MSM in PeruFred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Correlation Patterns of Brain Temperature-Pressure in Acute Brain InjuryBeijing Tiantan Hospital
- Understanding Fish Consumption Habits During PregnancyHarvard Pilgrim Health Care
- Mercury Metabolism by Bacteria in HumansUniversity of Rochester
- Negative Pressure Applied by the Equinox MPD for Severe Open Angle GlaucomaEquinox
- Evaluation of Safety, Tolerability and Immune Responses of Ebola-S and Marburg Vaccines in Healthy AdultsAlbert B. Sabin Vaccine Institute
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Basic Information about MercuryEnvironmental Protection Agency
- MercuryNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- MercuryAgency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Diagnosis and Tests
- Heavy Metal Blood TestNational Library of Medicine
Related Issues
- Dental Amalgam FillingsFood and Drug Administration
- Health Effects of Exposures to MercuryEnvironmental Protection Agency
- Storing, Transporting and Disposing of Mercury in Your HomeEnvironmental Protection Agency
- Thimerosal and VaccinesCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Mercury Poisoning, Mercury. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Mercury, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.