Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
This review explores arsenic's dual role as a poison and a treatment in diverse contexts, suggesting its complex legacy.
Despite its undoubted toxicity, arsenic is a much-used element, finding applications in agriculture, industry, and medicine. Arsenic as a poison has a prominent role in plays and novels as well as in real life. In medicine, arsenic was so widely used in the 19th century as a cure-all that it has been termed a “therapeutic mule.” Some arsenic compounds are still used in the treatment of parasitic disease. Moreover, in a striking development for a material regarded as a carcinogen, arsenous trioxide (brand name, Trisenox) was recently approved for treatment of leukemia. Arsenic has had a profound overall impact on human lives.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Bentley et al. (2002) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: