Bismuth compounds (including sodium bismuth tartrate) were formerly used to treat syphilis. Arsenic combined with either bismuth or mercury was a mainstay of syphilis treatment from the 1920s until the advent of penicillin in 1943. "Milk of bismuth" (an aqueous suspension of bismuth hydroxide and bismuth subcarbonate) was marketed as an alimentary cure-all in the early 20th century, and has been used to treat gastrointestinal disorders. Bismuth subnitrate (Bi5O(OH)9(NO3)4) and bismuth subcarbonate (Bi2O2(CO3)) are also used in medicine. Cosmetics and pigments
Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCl) is sometimes used in cosmetics, as a pigment in paint for eye shadows, hair sprays and nail polishes. This compound is found as the mineral bismoclite and in crystal form contains layers of atoms (see figure above) that refract light chromatically, resulting in an iridescent appearance similar to nacre of pearl. It was used as a cosmetic in ancient Egypt and in many places since. Bismuth white (also "Spanish white") can refer to either bismuth oxychloride or bismuth oxynitrate (BiONO3), when used as a white pigment. Bismuth vanadate is used as a light-stable non-reactive paint pigment (particularly for artists paints), often as a replacement for the more toxic cadmium sulfide yellow and orange-yellow pigments. The most common variety in artists paints is a lemon yellow, visually indistinguishable from its cadmium-containing alternative. Metal and alloys
Bismuth is used in metal alloys with other metals such as iron. These alloys are used in automatic sprinkler systems for fires.
Lupus vasculitis is a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus in which the autoimmune response causes the deposition of immune complexes, such as rheumatoid factor, within the blood vessels. It may manifest in as high as 56% of lupus patients throughout their life, in contrast to antiphospholipid syndrome which has a prevalence of 15%. Vasculitis more often affects younger men. == References ==