Elemental mercury is an extreme toxicant and affects inter alia the immunity system, the respiratory system as well as the liver. Mercury is a natural element that exists in one of three forms; elemental mercury, in inorganic salts and organic compounds. Normally, over 90% of any mercury ingested will harmlessly pass through the body. However, elemental mercury, more so in the form of methylmercury has an absorption rate of about 90% into the bloodstream, mainly through the GI tract (Rice et al, 2014) . This causes major limitations to the immune system leading to opportunistic infections, impacts the nervous system creating respirational problems and through bioaccumulation, adversely affects the liver.
The immune system of the body is one of the most advanced biological systems and entails a comprehensive learning system. Natural immunity entails the capability of differentiating between friendly and unfriendly elements in the body. This makes the body able to mark any adverse matter that is found within it and trigger antibodies to fight it. The antibodies engulf this adverse matter, mainly pathogens and stops them from replicating and kill them off, causing the body to remain healthy (WHO, 2017) . In most cases, a normal human being usually develops the ability to fight most if not all of the pathogens endemic to a particular habitat. In the very least, the body is able to slow down the progress of pathogens until the host can seek treatment. When mercury enters the body, it alters the immune cell production creating an inability or lower ability to both mark out pathogens and combat them (WHO, 2017) . Indeed, most chronic ailments do not happen because the immune system has failed, but because it has reacted negatively to a toxicant like mercury. The result is an influx of opportunistic infections.
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Respiration from a biological perspective is the process of oxidation of substances to produce energy and takes the ingestion of oxygen as well as the elimination of carbon dioxide (Rice et al, 2014) . This gaseous exchange in the blood takes place in the lungs making it the cardinal organ for respiration. Elemental mercury is known to cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This causes a major impairment and sometimes destruction of the lungs thus adversely affecting the gaseous exchange aspect of respiration. In the case of absolute destruction of the lungs and in the absence of a quick replacement to the same, the blood will suffer the accumulation of carbon dioxide. Contemporaneously, important organs will lack oxygen, leading to organ failure and eventual death (Rice et al, 2014) . Indeed, it is through the interference with respiration that many of the fatal outcomes of mercury toxicity in the body occur.
The liver on the other part, is a gland with several functions within the body. By its very definition as a gland, the liver operates by producing different chemicals involved in digestive purposes. The liver also helps to maintain a chemical balance for difference processes within the body. Like a chemical reactor, for the liver to work, a careful chemical balance must be maintained. However, being a heavy metal, elemental mercury causes bioaccumulation within the liver, a fact that affects the chemical balance (Rice et al, 2014) . The ensuing chemical imbalance causes the liver to fail in carrying out is fundamental purposes with extreme adverse effects in the body.
The foregoing confirms just how dangerous the ingestion of mercury can be to the body in general. These dangerous effects affect many parts of the body such as the immune system, the respiratory system as well as the liver. Whereas all forms of mercury may be dangerous to the body, it is the capability of absorption that causes the main difference. Elemental mercury has a very high absorption rate, making it the ideal toxicant due to its propensity to reach dangerous accumulation levels in the body. These accumulated amounts cause the aforementioned adverse effects, leading to severe and/or chronic illness and in some cases, death.
References
Rice, K. M., Walker, E. M., Wu, M., Gillette, C., & Blough, E. R. (2014). Environmental mercury and its toxic effects. Journal of Preventive Medicine & Public Health, 47 (2), 74-83. doi:10.3961/jpmph.2014.47.2.74
WHO. (2017, March). Mercury and health . Retrieved June 01, 2017, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs361/en/
