The Arabs, who inherited the medical lore of the Greeks, and probably
added to this in the case of mercury knowledge acquired from India,
were much interested in mercury. In the chemical works attributed to
Geber not only the metal itself, but its compounds, red precipitate
and corrosive sublimate, are described. Much use of mercury was made
by the Arabs in the form of ointments for skin diseases, for which
Mesuë recommended it, and Avicenna was probably the first physician
to express doubt in regard to the poisonous nature of the metal. He
observed that many persons had swallowed it without any bad effect, and
he noted that it passed through the body unchanged.