Heavy metals are commonly defined as those elements with a high (>5.0) relative density. There is, however, an ongoing debate regarding the exact definition and, in terms of health, it is better to think of these as metals or semi-metal compounds which have the potential to cause environmental or human toxicity. Heavy metal poisoning can be acute or chronic and may be caused by the following:
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/doctor/emergency-medicine/heavy-metal-poisoning