EFFECTS OF CERTAIN DRUGS AND POISONS 751 



observed subsequent to the chlorid retention, an unusually high excre- 

 tion of this ion. 



Schloss(&) obtained negative results with phosphorus upon the calcium 

 metabolism in rickets, but Brown, MacLachlan and Simpson find that 

 phosphorus, especially in conjunction with cod liver oil, produces an in- 

 crease in the blood-calcium in tetany. 



Phosphorus Deficiency. Phosphorus deficiency leads to disturbances 



Fig. 2. Leg bones in osteogenesis imperfecta. Seven-year-old boy untreated. (D. B. 

 Phemister, J. Am. M. Assn., 1918, LXX.) 



in growth and nutrition, the bones becoming soft and flexible when their 

 content in the element has fallen by about one-sixth (Heubner). 



Effects upon the Skeleton. Wegner in 1872 first demonstrated the 

 favorable effects of phosphorus upon the formation of bone, thus bringing 

 to light the anabolic aspect of phosphorus action. Small doses given to 

 growing animals were found to result in a production of compact instead 

 of spongy bone from the epiphyses. In adults the canals became filled 

 with dense bone, having a normal structure and chemical constitution. 

 Kassowitz found that larger doses increased the vascularization of the 

 bone. He described favorable results from phosphorus in rickets, osteo- 



