Mersalyl acid

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Mersalyl (Mersal) is an organomercury compound. It is only rarely used as a drug, having been superseded by diuretic medications that do not contain mercury and are therefore less toxic. It features a Hg(II) centre. Mersalyl was originally adapted from calomel (HgCl), a diuretic discovered by Paracelsus.