VIII. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY IN ANIMALS 283 



Other investigators*' "'^' ^^- •"•»-i"6 have also added to our kiiowiedfrc in this 

 field. Follis'"" has concisely summarized the changes in the teeth in scurvy 

 as follows: 



"\Vlicn guinea pigs are placed on a scorbutic diet alterations very soon 

 appear in the odontoblasts; these cells become atrophic and soon resemble 

 the nearby pulp cells. They lose their orderly polar arrangement and be- 

 come completely disorganized. The vessels of the pulp l)ecome dilated and 

 red cells ooze through. As a result of the changes in the odontoblasts, dentine 

 is laid down irregularly and the dental tubules are arranged in haphazard 

 fashion. Dentine deposition soon stops entirely. The predentine becomes 

 h^-percalcified. A few of the odontoblasts in the pulp apparently form some 

 dentine, at least enough to enclose themselves. The alizarin technique has 

 been employed to demonstrate that dentine formation is quantitatively 

 related to ascorbic acid intake.'"^ In the guinea pig changes in the enamel 

 organ come later in the course of the deficiency. The ameloblasts atrophy 

 and hemorrhages are encountered. Both these alterations have been in- 

 terpreted to be due to traumatic injury of the enamel organ as a result of 

 poor support. There is no e\'idence of any relationship between ascorbic 

 acid deficiency and dental caries. There is rarification of the alveolar bone, 

 as might be expected, when one recalls the changes encountered in the ribs 

 and other bones of experimental animals and humans. Weakness of the 

 supporting bones as well as weakness of the collagen fiber supporting ap- 

 paratus allows for great mobility and decreased ability to withstand me- 

 chanical stresses encountered in chewing. The changes in the supporting 

 structures of the guinea pig have been likened to the diffuse alveolar bone 

 atrophy of pyorrhea encountered in the human. ^''^" 



2. Muscles 



a. Voluntary 



Ascorbic acid is of special importance in maintaining the integrity of 

 both structure and function of muscle tissue, although it is present there 

 only in low concentrations as compared to many other tissues. Both the 

 sarcolemma and muscle tissue itself show degenerative changes in scurvy. 

 Hoist and Frohlich^ observed fatty degeneration of the muscles. Jackson 

 and Moore'"^ found that certain portions of muscle fibers are completely 

 disintegrated. Aschoff and Koch,'° however, did not find a fatty change of 

 the fibers in their study of human scurvy but noted that often the fibers 



^0* E. W. Fish and L. J. Harris, Trans. Roy. Soc. {London) B223, 489 (1933). 



'0* P. E. Boyle, O. A. Bessey, and P. H. Howe, Arch. Pathol. 30, 90 (1940). 



»"« P. E. Boyle, O. A. Bessey, andS. B. Wolbach, J. Am. Dental Assoc. 24, 1768 (1937). 



"' L. Jackson and J. J. Moore, J. Infectious Diseases 19, 478 (1916). 



