Difficult choices as death nears. As the changes described in this article develop in the final days or hours of a progressive terminal illness, difficult choices may arise. There may be questions about whether to provide food and fluids, receive blood transfusions, or treat infections.
The use of mercury in thermometers dates back hundreds of years. It was widely used because it reliably expands and contracts with changes in temperatures. It is highly poisonous, however, and can enter the body through the respiratory or digestive tracts, or directly through the skin.
A typical thermometer is a calibrated, or numbered, glass tube that contains mercury. The silver mercury in the tube rises, or expands, when warmth of an object increases. The mercury falls when warmth of an object decreases. The calibrated scale on the tube of the thermometer allows us to read the temperature.