A permanent bluish-gray or dark discoloration of the skin and internal organs caused by prolonged exposure to or ingestion of silver compounds.
From Greek 'argyros' (silver) + medical suffix '-ia' (condition of). The term literally means 'silverness' or 'condition related to silver,' describing what happens when silver accumulates in body tissues.
Argyria is a rare medical consequence of silver exposure, but it's a reminder that even precious metals can be dangerous in the wrong amounts—people who used silver-based medicines in the 1800s sometimes turned a metallic blue-gray permanently.
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