An inquiry into the general pathology of scurvy / by Charles Henry Ralfe.

  • Ralfe, C. H. (Charles Henry), 1842-1896.
Date:
1877
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the general pathology of scurvy / by Charles Henry Ralfe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    GENERAL PATHOLOGY OF SCURVY. Although no fact in medicine is more clearly established than that the exclusive cause of scurvy is the prolonged and complete withdrawal of suc- culent plants and fruits from the dietary of those affected, and that the administration of such arti- cles in sufficient quantities is effectual to prevent an outbreak of the disease or to remove it when it occurs, yet we are still in ignorance of the precise nature of the alterations of the blood and tissues which follow, in consequence of this withdrawal of vegetable food. Our ignorance in this respect is mainly due: first, to the incomplete information physiological chemistry affords on many points connected with the variations that daily and hourly occur in the composition of normal blood, and the influence these variations have upon the nutrition of the tissues—points that must be determined before we can expect to judge of the effects pro- duced by even primary alteration of the blood in disease ; secondly, to the inquiry having as yet been limited to the determination of a few isolated