OSTEOMALACIA 371 



methods, thought that they found evidence that the phosphorus 

 of ossifying cartilage is converted from an organic combination 

 into an inorganic form (P 2 O 5 ), which then takes up calcium from 

 the blood. The methods used have been questioned, and Pac- 

 chioni, 1 from his studies, was inclined to the opinion that the 

 calcium entered the cartilage already combined as phosphate. 

 Wells implanted various tissues that had been killed and steril- 

 ized by boiling into the abdominal cavity of rabbits, and found 

 that tissues rich in nucleoproteids showed no tendency to take 

 up calcium in greater amounts than did tissues poor in nucleo- 

 proteid, which result speaks against the idea that phosphoric 

 acid derived from nucleic acid combines the calcium. On the 

 other hand, implanted cartilage soon became thoroughly impreg- 

 nated with calcium salts, which seemed to be deposited in the 

 same proportion as to carbonate and phosphate as in bone. 



Physical Absorption of Calcium Salts. As there could 

 be no question of " vital activity " on the part of this boiled car- 

 tilage, it seems most probable that there exists in cartilage a 

 specific absorption affinity for calcium salts, similar to the absorp- 

 tion affinity that Hofmeister 2 observed exhibited by other organic 

 colloids (gelatin disks) toward various crystalline substances in 

 solution. Pfaundler has also demonstrated that cartilage in the 

 test-tube has a specific absorption affinity for calcium. It is 

 doubtful if ossification can be explained in this simple manner, 

 however, for on this basis we should expect the calcium to be 

 easily washed out of the bones, and an increase in calcium 

 should lead to increased ossification. Furthermore, it does not 

 account for the remarkable specific affinity of cartilage for cal- 

 cium salts. 



OSTEOMALACIA 3 



In this condition the quantity of inorganic salts in the 

 bone is greatly decreased, while, at the same time, their place is 

 taken in part by new-formed osteoid tissue ; as a result, the 

 proportion of the weight of the bone formed by inorganic salts 

 is reduced to as low as 20 to 40 per cent., instead of being from 

 56 to 60 per cent., as in normal bone. 4 This suggests that the 

 cause of the disease may be a solution of the lime salts by some 

 acid, in support of which Schmidt has reported the finding of 

 lactic acid in the altered substance of the bones in osteomalacia, 



1 Jahrb. f. Kinderheilk., 1902 (56), 327. 



2 Arch, exper. Path. u. Pharm., 1891 (28), 210. 



3 See also review in Albu and Neuberg's " Mineralstoffwechsel," Berlin, 

 1906, pp. 124-127. 



4 Full figures given by Senator, Ziemssen's Handbuch, 1879 (13), 236. 



