310 



THE VITAMINES 



Unger (I.e. 378) showed that a scorbutic rosary may be cured by 

 giving vitamine C. It may seem from this that the complications 

 of scurvy by rachitic signs frequently mentioned in the literature 

 may be attributed to the above condition. By investigation of the 

 bones, however, the scorbutic lesions may be differentiated from 

 the rachitic. In rickets, we find a broad band of osteoid tissue 

 formed at the epiphyseal ends; there is a broad band of insufficiently 



FIG. 62. SCORBUTIC ROSARY 

 "Scurvy" Hess, courtesy of J. B. Lippincott 



calcified cartilage, which is never observed in scurvy. In scurvy, 

 the growth of the osteoblasts is markedly inhibited, but when growth 

 starts, it proceeds in a normal manner. In addition, we find a 

 difference in the number of capillaries in the cartilagenous tissue and 

 in the marrow, very rare in scurvy, but much more frequent in rickets. 

 Hess (1022) saw also a degeneration of the ventral horns in the lumbar 

 region of the spinal cord. 



