SCURVY 63 



has indeed proved to be a very suitable animal for 

 experimental work on scurvy, and, since Hart and 

 Lessing's first observations,^ has been effectively 

 employed in the study of the subject. The symp- 

 toms produced are strikingly like those of infantile 

 scurvy, and, like these, yield very rapidly to treat- 

 ment with antiscorbutics. On a diet of boiled rice 

 and milk, both autoclaved, together with steamed 

 wheat germ (to supply the antineuritic and to 

 some extent the fat-soluble factors), the monkey 

 develops symptoms of scurvy in six to ten weeks, 

 the joints, especially those of the hind limbs, be- 

 coming weak, the gums spongy and ulcerated with 

 marked haemorrhages, and the teeth loose. Many 

 subcutaneous and subperiosteal haemorrhages are 

 present, and the costochondral junctions of the ribs 

 show marked " rosary " swellings. A monkey in 

 this condition was completely cured by the ad- 

 ministration of lemon juice freed from acids (p. 69), 

 which has also been found effective in curing scurvy 

 both in guinea-pigs and babies. Improvement 

 commenced in twenty-four hours, and after five 

 days the animal was almost normal. An exa- 

 mination after two months revealed no traces of 

 scorbutic symptoms. 



Susceptibility of Different Animals to Scurvy. — 

 A very important point which emerges from the 

 work on experimental scurvy is that different 



Der Skorbut der kleinen Kinder, 1913. 



