Lead is a neurotoxin which causes high blood pressure, abdominal pain, constipation, joint pains, muscle pains, headache, memory loss, and mood disorders. Lead must be ingested to have such effects but can be contained within the bloodstream in small doses without symptoms. Lead poisoning is primarily caused by drinking from lead pipes or ingesting lead-based paints. Oddly enough the ancient Romans linked lead to the Mad God Saturn (pictured to the right eating his own son) who exemplifies the insanity-like symptoms of lead poisoning but continued to build plumbing almost exclusively from the material they knew was killing them. In the medical fields today lead is used to protect vital organs during X-Ray scans, and in other circumstances to contain electromagnetic radiation. Lead normally appears in its elemental form in the bio/medical fields.
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