Why was mercury used for the cure of syphilis?

The mercury, or 'blue mass', pills shown in the print were popular from the 17th to 19th century and used mercury in its elemental form or compound form, usually mercurous chloride (also known as calomel). read more

Mercury had been used as a treatment for epidemic diseases since Guy de Chauliac, (personal physician to the Pope in Avignon), advocated its use in his work La Grande Chirurgie in 1363, and this became the accepted treatment for syphilis. read more

From a paleopathological point of view syphilis is a wonderful disease since it is so easy to diagnose from the remaining bones. To the diseased however a much dreaded fate awaited: If the disease did not kill you the cure propably did. From early on mercury was used in an attempt to cure syphilis. read more

In the desperate search for a cure, it was almost inevitable that various forms of mercury would be tried. Indeed, the treatment appeared to benefit some patients. While it is unclear whether mercury actually did cure syphilis (some cases of the disease resolve spontaneously), the use of mercury therapy continued into the early 20th century. read more

Mercury was used to treat various ailments over the centuries. Mostly a fad and usually made the patient sicker than the disease they were trying to treat. Mercury didn’t actually cure anything. read more