VIII. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY IN ANIMALS 285 



tluiu in chronic scurvy, hut in the former the finer structure of the muscle 

 became more prominent, the sarcolemma was reduced in amount, and the 

 fibers showed more of a tendency to pull apart. Their results indicated 

 that ascorbic acid is necessary for maintenance of the attachment of myo- 

 fibrils to the sarcolemma. Hines et al}^^ studied the effect of different levels 

 of ascorbic acid on neuromuscular regeneration in guinea pigs and found 

 that regeneration in animals on suboptimal amounts of the vitamin was 

 weaker than that of animals on optimal amounts. No special benefit re- 

 sulted from excess amounts. 



h. Involuntary 



(1) Heart. Meyer^^ has been the chief contributor to our knowledge in 

 this field. He found the scorbutic heart outwardly normal except that it 

 was often flabby and pale, and he thought it Ukely that there may have 

 been some hypertrophy of both ventricles. He found that the finer archi- 

 tecture of the heart muscle became obscured and the stain uneven in micro- 

 scopic sections. Although a condition suggesting beginning hyaline degen- 

 eration occurs, he never observed the waxy degeneration which was 

 sometimes so marked in the skeletal muscles. 



(2) Musculature of the Stomach, Intestine, Ducts, and Urinary Bladder. 

 Meyer^^ found that hemorrhages were usually less pronounced and common 

 in the stomach than in the duodenum and cecum. The musculature became 

 vacuolated and subject to lysis. Although edema may have been present, 

 he considered it was not responsible for the vacuolated and fenestrated ap- 

 pearance of the musculature. As to the bladder he states that "when one 

 considers the profound changes present in the mucosa and musculature, 

 and probably also in the nerves of the bladder, one scarcely can wonder 

 that urinary incontinence occurs in some of these animals." 



The best available evidence at the present time indicates that swelling 

 and atrophy of both the sarcolemma and of muscle tissue itself may be 

 found. Hemorrhages occur frequently, and waxy degeneration may be ob- 

 served in skeletal but not in heart muscle. There is some tendency to cal- 

 cification, fragmentation, vacuolation, and lysis of cells. 



3. Nervous System 



The nervous system is considerably affected in scurvy. Meyer^* found 

 hemorrhages in brain, spinal cord, posterior root ganglia, and nerve trunks 

 of scorbutic guinea pigs. He observed degenerative changes (lytic) other 

 than fatty, resulting in complete loss of substance in the central, peripheral, 

 and sympathetic nerv^ous systems. He described the condition as follows: 



'" II. M. Hines, B. Lazere, J. D. Thompson, and C. H. Cretzmeyer, J. Nutrition 27, 

 303 (1944). 



