272 ASCORBIC ACID 



in almost any part of the body, particularly in intramuscular and subcu- 

 taneous areas, and a general weakness of tissues, especially in those with 

 a comparatively high content of collagen or related substances. Other char- 

 acteristic symptoms are loss of appetite, lessening of activity, loss of luster 

 of eyes and hair, roughening of hair, and assumption of "face-ache" pos- 

 ture — hunching with drooping head, stiffening of hind legs and frequent 

 outward rotation of legs, beading of ribs — and in the late stages there is 

 usually a lowering of body temperature, anemia, increase in leucocytes, 

 and decrease in amount of blood, especially near the surface, and a tend- 

 ency to diarrhea. 



Certain symptoms, which have been described as characteristic of scurvy 

 in guinea pigs (by some but not all of the investigators in this field), may 

 possibly be due to some associated deficiency. Included in this category are 

 much swollen joints and the presence of large amounts of fluid in the body 

 cavity. The swollen gums and loose teeth which are characteristic of scurvy 

 in primates do not occur in guinea pigs under the usual experimental con- 

 ditions but only when the diet contains enough ascorbic acid to markedly 

 prolong life, thereby allowing sufficient time for the symptoms to develop. 



C. PATHOLOGY 

 1. Mesenchymal Tissues 



The most notable effects of ascorbic acid deficiency are to be found in 

 the mesenchymal tissues, but other tissues are also affected. ^^ 



According to Schade-^ the mesenchyme has three general functions: (1) 

 supporting — holding the parenchyma cells of the organs in correct relation ; 

 (2) filling in the complementary spaces of the body which constantly change 

 in form with the movement of the muscles; and (3) gliding — permitting 

 the smoothest possible shifting of the different parts. Meyer-^ has sug- 

 gested another function of connective tissue, i.e., a probable chemical co- 

 operation between the stroma and epithelium in all epithelial and endo- 

 thelial structures. 



Aschoff and Koch^" were the first investigators to suggest that the pri- 

 mary deficiency in scurvy is due to a lack, or a faulty development, of inter- 

 cellular cement materials. Hojer,'^ on the other hand, held that the disturb- 

 ance was directly due to a functional defect of the cells rather than to a 

 lack of structural materials. Regardless of which of these concepts is correct, 



" S. B. Wolbach, New Engl. J. Med. 215, 1158 (1936). 



^8 H. Schade, Die Molekularpathologie der Entziindung. Theodor SteinkopfT, Dres- 

 den and Leipzig, 1935. 



29 K. Meyer, Trans. 1st Conf. on Connective Tissues, New York (1950). 



^° L. Aschol'i' and W. Koch, Eine Pathologische-Anatomische Studie. Gustav Fischer 

 Jena, 1919. 



