VIII. EFFECTS OF DEFICIENCY IN ANIMALS 287 



pigs ceased growing, but the cells did not separate and within a short time 

 they deteriorated. In cultures in which the cells had become separated 

 because of lack of calcium in the medium, it was stated that the presence of 

 ascorbic acid was unnecessary for re-establishing the connections. From 

 these results it was concluded that the intercellular cement does not require 

 ascorbic acid either for its formation or for its maintenance. However, 

 growth was definitely accelerated by the presence of the \ntamin. The evi- 

 dence for the above conclusions is not convincing. Since l)oth embryo juice 

 and plasma from normal animals were used in the preparation of the me- 

 dium, it must have contained ascorbic acid. Also, since the medium fonned 

 a coagulum around the tissues, the washing for a short period probably 

 did not remove all the ascorbic acid contained in it. Moreover, since the 

 cultures were made from tissues of normal animals, they doubtless contained 

 ascorbic acid within the cells and it would not have been removed by wash- 

 mg for a short period. Such traces of ascorbic acid remaining in the cells 

 plus possible traces left in the surrounding medium may have been suffi- 

 cient to permit restoration of the organic constituent of the cement when 

 calcium was supplied but not enough to provide for any growth. 



In view of these considerations the evidence that ascorbic acid is not 

 necessary for the production or re-establishment of the intercellular cement 

 is not conclusive. There is, in fact, considerable suggestive evidence from 

 growth studies that there is a requirement for the production of intercellular 

 cement though it is probably small as indicated by Galloway, Garry, and 

 Hitchins'^^ finding of a low requirement of ascorbic acid for healing wounds 

 of epithelial tissue. Presumably, the formation of the intercellular cement 

 could be a factor in determining a possible need of the vitamin in epithelial 

 tissues. It is ob\dous that challenging problems wdth respect to the inter- 

 cellular cement of the capillary walls await solution. 



Resuming the discussion on the effect of ascorbic acid on capillary re- 

 sistance, mention should be made of a study by Zilva"* on guinea pigs with 

 an acute condition of scurvy in which he could detect no significant decline 

 in the strength of the capillary walls. Hojer^ attributed the hemorrhagic 

 tendency in scurvy to weakness in the vascular walls and stated, in agree- 

 ment with Iwabuchi,"® that often the dilatation of the capillaries (and 

 veins) was so great as to give an erroneous impression of actual hemor- 

 rhage. Although hemorrhages occur in vitamin C deficiency, no actual histo- 

 logical evidence of a change in capillary walls has been found. "^' "^ Extrav- 

 asation may possibly occur, nevertheless, by the red cells oozing through 



"fi S. S. Zilva, Biochcm. J. 45, 79 (1949). 



"• T. Iwabuchi, Z. ges. exptl. med. 30, 65 (1922). 



"' S. B. WolI)ach and O. A. Bessey, Physiol. Revs. 22, 233 (1942). 



"8 R. E. Lee and Z. N. Lee, Am. J. Physiol. 149, 465 (1947). 



