Traces of mercury in organs from primates with amalgam fillings

Exp Mol Pathol 52 (3): 291-299 (Jun 1990)



Traces of mercury in organs from primates with Amalgam fillings.



Danscher G, Horsted-Bindslev P, Rungby J



Department of Neurobiology, University of Aarhus, Denmark.



In order to trace possible accumulations of mercury, three vervet
monkeys received occlusal amalgam fillings, three others maxillary
bone implants of amalgam, and three untreated monkeys served as
controls. One year later all animals were sacrificed by transcardial
perfusion with glutaraldehyde. Tissue sections from different organs
were subjected to silver amplification by autometallography and
analyzed at light and electron microscopical levels. It was found
that amalgam fillings (total, 0.7-1.2 g) caused deposition of
mercury in the following tissues: spinal ganglia, anterior
pituitary, adrenal, medulla, liver, kidneys, lungs, and intestinal
lymph glands. In monkeys with maxillary silver amalgam implants
(total, 0.1-0.3 g), mercury was found in the same organs except for
liver, lungs, and intestinal lymph glands. Organs from the three
control animals were devoid of precipitate. To evaluate whether
silver released from the corroding amalgam fillings added to the
staining pattern, tissue sections were exposed to potassium cyanide
prior to being autometallographically developed. This treatment
removes all traces of silver, leaving mercury sulfide accumulation
untouched. By comparing sections that had been exposed to cyanide
with untreated parallels no difference was seen in the pattern
confirming that mercury was the only catalyst present in the tissue.
These results strongly support what has been suggested previously
that dental fillings in primates cause absorption of mercury
released from amalgam fillings through lungs and intestinal tract,
and that depending on exposure mercury is distributed to most organs
and will eventually be found in the central nervous system. The
present data also show that silver released from the corroding
filling is not absorbed.

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