Toxicology of Mercury Clarkson, TW. (Dept. of Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, New York 14642). "Human exposure to mercury vapor is from dental amalgam and industries using mercury. The health effects of mercury vapor have been known since ancient times. Severe exposure results in a triad of symptoms, erethism (hyper excitability), tremor, and gingivitis. Today, we are concerned with more subtle effects such as preclinical changes in kidney function and behavioral and cognitive changes associated with effects on the central nervous system. Methylmercury is a neurological poison affecting primarily brain tissue." Crit Rev Clin Lab Sci 1997 Aug; 34(4): 369-403.