Abstract
The history of antibiotics goes back to mercury and bismuth, heavy metals which are toxic to people, but in correct doses, were more toxic to the organism that causes syphilis, Treponema pallidum. Mercury as a therapy for syphilis was first discussed back in the 1400s, but the heavy metals were not widely used until the end of the nineteenth century. Whether they were efficacious or not is not entirely clear since no systematic studies like those we use today were carried out in those times. But there is good reason to believe that this therapy worked at least to some extent. Of course, as all of us who like to eat fish know, mercury is also rather toxic to people.
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Bibliography
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Shlaes, D.M. (2010). The Miracle. In: Antibiotics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9057-7_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9057-7_2
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