Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Popular Searches
on Ask.com
ERETHISM - 2 reference results
Erethism
Erethism or erethism mercurialis is a symptom complex of mercury poisoning, presenting with excessive shyness, timidity and social phobia. 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.

References

External links

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia © 2001-2006 Wikipedia contributors (Disclaimer)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Sunday April 13, 2008 at 19:07:18 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation

erethism
Jan 01, 1988; Webster's NewWorld Dictionary 01-01-1988 er|e|thism (er' thiz|m) n. [Rare] Physiol. an abnormal extreme irritability or...
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
Is the human nervous system most sensitive to environmental toxins? (editorial)
Nov 01, 1989; Is the Human Nervous System Most Sensitive to Environmental Toxins? ALTHOUGH the origins of neurotoxicity are lost in prehistory,...
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
Hari Kunzru. The Impressionist.(Book Review)
Jul 01, 2003; New York. Dutton. 2002. 383 pages. $24.95. ISBN 0-525-94642-X AS A COLONY OF GREAT BRITAIN, India was the most precious of the...
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
Mercury, 101.(Environmental Health Hot Topics)
Mar 01, 2004; A growing number of health professionals recognize a lack of knowledge regarding risks to children from environmental exposures....
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
Health evaluation of gold miners living in a mercury-contaminated village in Serra Pelada, Para, Brazil.(Report)
Sep 22, 2007; Exposure to different forms of mercury has been linked to adverse health effects that mainly affect the central nervous system...
Read more with a free trial on HighBeam.com »
HighBeam Research, Inc. © Copyright 2009.

Search another word or see ERETHISM on Dictionary | Thesaurus