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.
Mercury has a high boiling point of about 357oC and therefore can be used to measure temperatures as high as 357oC. 2. Mercury has a freezing point of about â39oC and hence is suitable in thermometers to record low temperatures (although not very low temperatures). 3.