Author: Tuthill JY
Source: The Brooklyn Medical Journal.
Year: 1898
Comment: Dr. J. Tuthill’s research entitled “Mercurial necrosis resulting from amalgam fillings,” was published in The Brooklyn Medical Journal in 1898 and is one of the earliest scientific documents noting risks of dental mercury. Dr. Tuthill read his work, which included a number of case studies, before a medical society. You can access the publication on Google Books or by using this link: https://books.google.com/books?id=_FHSAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA97&lpg=PA97&dq=Tuthill,+JY.+Mercurial+necrosis+resulting+from+amalgam+fillings&source=bl&ots=nkdSEi-x8r&sig=2ZAxA_D3L4nAVO0N0r2jtK0suPc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjw3rWw9q7fAhVSwlkKHbQcAR0Q6AEwCXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Tuthill%2C%20JY.%20Mercurial%20necrosis%20resulting%20from%20amalgam%20fillings&f=false
Abstract / Excerpt:
“Mercurial necrosis is a field of pathology which has not received the investigation it deserves by the medical profession. While the poisonous effects of mercury have so long been recognized that I need take no time in rehearsing them, yet there are certain causes affecting the nerve centres which demand more thorough investigation than has yet been given. In presenting this subject to the Society for consideration I want to show that by the use of amalgam in filling teeth there is a possibility of mercurial poisoning, which seriously affects the nerve-centres, impairs locomotion by heaviness of limb and stiffness of joint, gives rise to obstinate diseases of the skin, and makes a mental wreck of its victim, whose imaginations and hallucinations are more than my pen can describe.”
Citation:
Tuthill, JY. Mercurial necrosis resulting from amalgam fillings. The Brooklyn Medical Journal. 1898; XII:725-742.