XML 72 R61.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.1

Contingencies - Fosamax Litigation - Narrative (Details) - Fosamax	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2014 legal_matter	Mar. 31, 2019 legal_matter Case
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)		3,900
Femur Fracture Litigation | Federal
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)		10
Loss contingency, claims dismissed, number (in legal matters) | legal_matter	650	1,060
Loss contingency, claims on appeal, number (in legal matters) | legal_matter	515
Femur Fracture Litigation | New Jersey state court
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)		2,555
Femur Fracture Litigation | California state court
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)		275
Femur Fracture Litigation | Other state courts
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)		4

X

- Definition

Loss Contingency, Claims on Appeal, Number

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	mrk_LossContingencyClaimsonAppealNumber
Namespace Prefix:	mrk_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Number of claims dismissed.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyClaimsDismissedNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Definition

Number of pending claims pertaining to a loss contingency.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=82911808&loc=d3e14435-108349

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyPendingClaimsNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

X

- Details

Name:	srt_ProductOrServiceAxis=mrk_FosamaxMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingenciesByNatureOfContingencyAxis=mrk_FemurFractureLitigationMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=mrk_FederalMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=mrk_NewJerseyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=mrk_CaliforniaStateCourtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_LitigationCaseAxis=mrk_OtherStateCourtMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: