CHAPTER II 



SCUEVY 



A historical survey of this interesting disease is given by Schroder 

 (914), Schelenz (915), Hirsch (916) and Autran (917); in a new 

 monograph by Hess (918), the whole field of scurvy is critically 

 treated. We have already touched lightly upon the develop- 

 ment of this subject and have spoken of the accurate conception 

 of the nature of scurvy by physicians in the eighteenth century 

 Kramer (I.e. 32), Bachstrom (I.e. 33), Lind (I.e. 34). From all of 

 these data, we see that scurvy has been known for hundreds of years, 

 and makes it appearance particularly on long sea voyages, polar 

 expeditions, and in time of war. Cook (919), in the report of his 

 expedition, mentioned the foodstuffs needed for the prevention of 

 this disease. On one occasion, raw sea-lion meat was used for this 

 purpose; on a second voyage, he used a malt infusion. Based 

 upon these and similar experiences, the English navy in 1804, at 

 the suggestion of Sir Gilbert Blaine (920), introduced the daily portion 

 of lime juice, whereupon, according to Budd (921), the number of 

 cases decreased markedly. It appears certain that scurvy was prev- 

 alent in every war, including the last, in great numbers; however, 

 in times of peace it was due to bad harvests, especially of potatoes. 

 MacNab (922) saw numerous cases in the English army at Nassirabad 

 in Rajputana (India) during 1833-1834. The disease was brought to 

 an end by using a native sour plant, Phyllanthus emblica. In the 

 Civil War in the United States (923), there occurred 30,714 cases of 

 scurvy, because of the use of dried vegetables in winter. In the 

 Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, numerous cases were observed 

 during the siege of Paris, described by Delpech (I.e. 905), Bucquoy 

 I.e. 906) and other physicians (924). The disease was at time time 

 prevalent in prisons and was frequently accompanied by edema. In 

 the Russo-Japanese War, scurvy was observed among the Russians 

 and was described in detail by Sato and Nambu (925) and Blau (926). 

 Sir W. G. MacPherson (927) saw 20,000 cases during the siege of 

 Port Arthur. As regards the disease among the civilian population, 

 it made its appearance when there was a scarcity of potatoes and 



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