A metallic element, atomic no. 48, atomic wt. 112.411; its salts are poisonous and little used in medicine but are frequently used in the basic sciences. Various compounds of cadmium are used commercially in metallurgy, photography, and electrochemistry; a few have been used as ascaricides, antiseptics, and fungicides. [L. cadmia, fr. G. kadmeia or kadmia, an ore of zinc, calamine]
