INORGANIC FOODS. 



377 



is closely related to it, is not justifiable, for we have seen that the ions have 

 a quite specific action. For this reason it seems as if more attention 

 should be paid to the inorganic nature of the ash of milk, or of any milk- 

 substitute, in considering its value as food for the child. 



It is not right, however, to lay particular stress upon any one inorganic 

 salt. At present we are not able to judge the relative merits of the different 

 salts. As we have seen, almost all of the inorganic substances, with the 

 single exception of lime, are present in sufficient quantities in the ordinary 

 articles of diet. 



One hundred grams of dry substance contain the following amounts of 

 lime in milligrams : l 



This little summary shows that a diet consisting chiefly of meat is not 

 suitable for the nursing mother. Rich in lime are the yolk of eggs, and 

 especially cow's milk. We can well imagine, a priori, that the organism 

 of the mother during the entire period when the child receives its nourish- 

 ment at her expense will suffer materially if there is % lack of lime in her 

 food, and in such cases she will be obliged to draw upon her own supplies 

 of lime to furnish the child with the amount that it requires. 



Osteomalacia, a disease in which the bones gradually lose their solid 

 constituents and finally become thin as parchment, soft and flexible, 

 occasionally occurs during pregnancy. It would seem probable that this 

 disease bears some relation to the increased requirement of lime-salts on 

 the part of the organism of the mother. The child develops at the expense 

 of the mother's tissue. All that we know concerning the disease, however, 

 is contrary to this assumption. It occurs more frequently in certain 

 localities. 2 Its appearance is not restricted to the period of pregnancy. 

 It is at such a time, however, that the symptoms are most pronounced, and 

 usually the disease then progresses more rapidly. The histological 

 study of osteomalacial bones shows that it is not lime alone that the bones 

 have lost. It is true that one of the most noticeable changes is the decal- 

 cification of the individual lamellae; but at the same time there 

 takes place, with varying intensity, a new formation of osteoidal tissue. 

 The assumption that this decalcification of the bones probably does not 

 stand in any direct relation to the development of the foetus is supported 



1 G. von Bunge: Z. Biol. 41, 155 (1900). 



2 Cf. L. Gelpke: Die Osteomalakie im Ergolztale, Basel, 1891. 



