Mercurius dulcis
Made from calomel — the mild mercury chloride of the old pharmacopeias, the centuries' standard liver-and-bowel purge, and the classical remedy of the sluggish liver and the scrofulous glands.
The whole picture, in one breath
Think of the old liver-and-bowel purge in remedy form: the torpid liver and jaundice of the books, the scrofulous swollen glands, the sluggish bowels of the mercury-mild chapter, and the white powder that was the centuries' standard. The calomel liver: that is Mercurius dulcis.
The substance, in plain words
Calomel — mild mercurous chloride — was the standard liver-and-bowel purge of the old pharmacopeias for centuries, its mercury genuinely moving the bile and the bowel, its use so universal it defined the purge era. The proving gave the white powder the sluggish-liver portrait.
The traditional picture Classical sources
The inner state
- Anxiety about health. Worry over the liver, the glands, the sluggishness, worse at night.
- Irritability. Cross from the constant hepatic discomfort.
- Dullness. Heavy mind with the torpid, jaundiced frame.
The body
- Torpid liver and jaundice. The keynote: the sluggish, jaundiced liver of the books' great use.
- Scrofulous swollen glands. The books' second use — the swollen, chronic glands of the scrofulous chapter.
- Sluggish bowels. The bound, inactive bowel the old purge was given for.
- Worse fats and cold damp. The rich meal and the wet weather thicken the liver.
- Better for the bile flowing and rest. The flowing bile and rest ease the calomel state.
Modalities (worse and better factors)
| Worse from ⬇ | Better from ⬇ |
|---|---|
| fats and rich food; cold damp weather; morning; exertion. | the bile flowing; rest; warmth. |
Where it acts (organ affinities)
Liver and bile, glands, bowels, general vitality.
Where the classical picture comes from
The universal purge's proving gave the sluggish-liver portrait; Merc dulcis became the classical remedy of the torpid liver and the swollen glands — the white powder of the purge era serving the liver it moved.
The substance in real medicine Pharmacology
What this section is: the pharmacology and toxicology of the source substance. It is not clinical evidence that a homeopathic preparation of it treats any condition. What controlled trials do and do not show is set out on the Evidence page.
Calomel was genuinely the defining purge of the old pharmacopeias — its mercury really moved the bile and the bowel, its use so universal that 'calomel and jalap' defined the era's medicine. Its retirement came with hepatology and safer drugs; the white powder's career is the history of the purge itself.
Look-alikes (how the classical authors told it apart)
| Remedy | Looks similar because… | Tells it apart because… |
|---|---|---|
| Mercurius solubilis | The mercury family | Merc sol is sweaty, foul and trembling; Merc dulcis the mild, liver-purging member of the same family. |
| Chionanthus virginica | Sluggish liver | Chionanthus is the blocked gall; Merc dulcis the centuries' purge of the same torpid liver. |
| Baryta carbonica | Swollen glands | Baryta is the backward child's glands; Merc dulcis the scrofulous chapter of the purge era. |
| Podophyllum peltatum | Liver and bowel | Podophyllum is the dawn-gushing liver-bowel; Merc dulcis the mild mercury of the same chapter. |