EFFECTS ON THE HEART AND BLOOD VESSELS 233 



Cardiac lesions somewhat resembling those of human pellagra were found by 

 Nicholls ('12) and Sundwall ('17) in rats and other animals fed maize and similar 

 diets. 



Mineral Deficiency. Rachitis. — In a dog, with a rachitoid disorder pro- 

 duced by a calcium-poor diet, Voit ('80) found an apparent slight hypertrophy 

 of the heart. This was confirmed by Jackson and Carleton ('22, '23) who 

 found a moderate hypertrophy of the heart in rats subjected to experimental 

 rickets (Table 11). In human rickets, Cheadle and Poynton ('07) stated that 

 the heart appears variable, but probably shares in the general malnutrition. 

 According to Wohlauer ('n), the heart may be displaced (due to thoracic de- 

 formity), and is usually hypertrophied, especially in the right ventricle, on 

 account of the increased labor due to the impediment to pulmonary circulation. 



Vitamin Deficiency. Vitamin A. — Emmett and Allen ('20) and Davis and 

 Outhouse ('21) found no definite changes in the heart of rats on diets deficient 

 in vitamin A. The effects of this and other vitamin deficiencies have been 

 reviewed recently by Funk ('22). Herter ('97) noted cardiac enlargement, 

 hemorrhages, and slight "granular degeneration" in the cardiac muscle fibers 

 of pigs during starvation, involving a deficiency in vitamin A. Meyerstein 

 ('22) made a few observations on the heart in young white rats on diets deficient 

 in vitamins A and B. 



Vitamin B. Beriberi and Polyneuritis. — In human beriberi, Ellis ('98) found 

 a marked cardiac hypertrophy, with the right side in every case much enlarged. 

 In 125 necropsies of beriberi, the average heart weight was 13.37 oz -> while in 

 204 controls it averaged slightly below 9 oz. Duerck ('08) noted in beriberi a 

 variable heart weight though it was usually found hypertropied, even in emaci- 

 ated individuals. He also observed atrophic degeneration and nuclear prolifera- 

 tion in cardiac as well as in skeletal muscle. He stated ('08a) that the right 

 heart is especially dilated and hypertrophied, and that the cardiac muscle shows 

 yellowish spots and streaks of a fatty nature. In a case of acute beriberi, 

 however, Strong and Crowell ('12) found the cardiac muscle fibers swollen, ede- 

 matous, granular, and irregularly vacuolated; but not fatty. In infantile beri- 

 beri, Andrews ('12) described the right heart as greatly hypertrophied, so as to 

 equal or exceed the left ventricle. The cardiac muscle fibers were also found 

 hypertrophied, with congestion but no degeneration. Nagayo ('23) claims that 

 hypertrophy of the right ventricle distinguishes human beriberi from experi- 

 mental polyneuritis, in which cardiac atrophy is common. 



In experimental avian beriberi, cardiac lesions have frequently been found, 

 although Schnyder ('14) reported negative findings. In 200 fowls and 150 

 pigeons, Tasawa ('15) found the heart usually markedly atrophic, although the 

 right heart (sometimes also the left) is distinctly dilated. Vedder and Clark 

 ('12) likewise concluded that no cardiac hypertrophy, comparable to that in 

 human beriberi, occurs in polyneuritis gallinarum (in 56 fowls). The heart 

 may show no microscopic changes; or there may be slight edema, increased 

 pigmentation, or incipient mucoid or parenchymatous degeneration. The 

 cardiac lesions are described by Vedder ('13). In pigeons on diet deficient in 

 vitamin B, McCarrison ('19, '21) observed marked decrease in cardiac weight 



