264 



An Experimental Inquiry into Scitrvy. 



which is universal in scurvy, and is always found except in those cases 

 in which the teeth ai e absent — that is, the spongy condition of the 

 gums. When we consider the first group of monkeys Avhich were 

 merely fed on rice, maize, and fresh meat, out of the six monkeys not 

 one showed any appearance of spongy gums, so that we can conclude 

 that in these monkeys none of them showed any scurvy whatever. 



We now come to the eight monkeys fed on exactly the same diet, in 

 which the meat was tainted instead of fresh, and here no less than five 

 of the eight monkeys showed sponginess of the gums, and some, not 

 only the sponginess but the gums even ulcerated, so that five out of the 

 eight monkeys showed this sign, which is considered by all who 

 describe scurvy as the most significant. 



We now come to those monkeys which were well fed, getting the 

 fresh vegetables every day. Four of these monkeys showed bloody 

 mucus in the stools, and two of them spongy and bleeding gums. 



We have further to consider the condition of the blood in the 

 monkeys fed on tainted meat. Scurvy is considered by all authorities 

 to be a peculiar form of anaemia. In two monkeys we had the oppor- 

 tunity of analysing the blood, and it is seen hy the analyses that we 

 have marked changes in the blood, a very great diminution in the 

 quantity of haemoglobin, with a slight diminution in the number of 

 red blood corpuscles — in fact, a condition corresponding to chlorosis, 

 and that is accompanied by leucocytosis. 



The specific gravity of the blood is reduced, and this is due to the 

 reduction in the quantity of proteids and not to a marked reduction in 

 the quantity of salines in the blood. The fibrine of the blood is 

 increased, together with an increase in the coagulability of the blood. 



When we consider what has been found in the blood of man 

 suff'ering from scurvy, we find it is universally accepted that there is 

 this condition of anaemia with low specific gra^dty, the blood being 

 distinctly watery and with a marked excess in the quantity of fibrine. 

 So the condition of the blood of the two monkeys which we have 

 analysed corresponds with that found in the majority of analyses of 

 scorbutic blood. 



Considering therefore the occurrence, in the monkeys fed on tainted 

 meat, of bloody mucus in the stools, spongy gums, and characteristic 

 anaemia, we assume that, although the sj^mptom of haemorrhages into 

 the tissues was not observed, we may fairly conclude thac they were 

 really scorbutic. 



This conclusion is further justified when we consider, on looking 

 over the description of scurvy given by authors, that all the symptoms 

 except the spongy gums are very often absent in different epidemics. 



The fact that the five monkeys fed on tainted meat, in which fresh 

 vegetables w^ere given, showed in a smaller proportion the symptoms of 

 scurvy than the monkeys in the second group, can be sufficiently 



