noun
- medicines or preparations containing mercury
Usage: medical; historical
Examples
- The old pharmacy contained bottles of mercurials used to treat various ailments.
- Doctors in the 19th century commonly prescribed mercurials for infections.
- Modern medicine has largely replaced mercurials with safer alternatives.
- The toxicity of mercurials led to their gradual discontinuation.
- Historical medical texts describe the use of mercurials in treating syphilis.