Erethism

Erethism

Erethism or erethism mercurialis is a symptom complex of mercury poisoning, presenting with excessive shyness, timidity and social phobia [WHO (1976) Environmental Health Criteria 1: Mercury, Geneva, World Health Organization, 131 pp.] [WHO. Inorganic mercury. Environmental Health Criteria 118. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1991.] . This was common among hat makers of old England who used mercury to stabilize the wool in a process called felting. The character the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland is often believed to be an example of someone suffering from erethism, but this account is apocryphal. The character was almost certainly based on Theophilus Carter, an eccentric furniture dealer who was well known to Carroll [cite journal |journal= British Medical Journal |date=1983 |volume=287 |issue=6409 |pages=1961 |title= Did the Mad Hatter have mercury poisoning? |author= Waldron HA |pmid=6418283 |url=http://pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=1550196&pageindex=1] .

References

External links

* [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/er/erethism.html Dictionary entry for 'Erethism']


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  • Erethism — Er e*thism, n. [Gr. ? irritation, fr. ? to stir, rouse, fr. ? to stir: cf. F. [ e]r[ e]thisme.] (Med.) A morbid degree of excitement or irritation in an organ. Hoblyn. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ERETHISM US — (от греч. erethiso раздражаю, возбуждаю), эретизм, термин, употребляемый преимущественно по отношению к детям. Основное его значение связано с понятием об эретическом habitus e, характеризующемся нежной, склонной к различным высыпаниям кожей,… …   Большая медицинская энциклопедия

  • erethism — [er′ə thiz΄əm] n. [Fr éréthisme < Gr erethismos, irritation < erethizein, to irritate < IE base * er > RISE, RUN] Rare Physiol. an abnormal extreme irritability or sensitivity of an organ, tissue, etc …   English World dictionary

  • erethism — noun /ˈɛɹɪθɪzəm/ a) Abnormal excitement of a bodily organ or tissue. Since the eighteenth century, sex has not ceased to provoke a kind of generalized discursive erethism. b) Any unusual or morbid over excitement. See Also: erethic …   Wiktionary

  • erethism — noun Etymology: French éréthisme, from Greek erethismos irritation, from erethizein to irritate; akin to Greek ornynai to rouse more at orient Date: 1800 abnormal irritability or responsiveness to stimulation …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • erethism — erethismic, erethistic /er euh this tik/, erethitic /er euh thit ik/, erethic /euh reth ik, e reth /, adj. /er euh thiz euhm/, n. Physiol. an unusual or excessive degree of irritability or stimulation in an organ or tissue. [1790 1800; < F… …   Universalium

  • erethism — er·e·thism er ə .thiz əm n abnormal irritability or responsiveness to stimulation ereth·ic ə reth ik, er eth adj * * * n. 1. a state of abnormal mental excitement or irritability. 2. rapid response to a stimulus. * * * ere·thism (erґə… …   Medical dictionary

  • erethism — n. abnormal sensitivity to sensory stimulation …   English contemporary dictionary

  • erethism — [ ɛrɪθɪz(ə)m] noun 1》 excessive sensitivity to stimulation of a part of the body, especially the sexual organs. 2》 a state of abnormal mental excitement or irritation. Origin C19: from Fr. éréthisme, from Gk erethismos, from erethizein irritate …   English new terms dictionary

  • erethism — er·e·thism …   English syllables

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