An affected person becomes weak and has joint pain. At the first visible signs of scurvy, raised red spots appear on the skin around the hair follicles of the legs, buttocks, arms and back. When the tiny capillaries of the hair follicles hemorrhage, the hair-producing cells do not receive the nourishment needed for the hairs to grow normally. Gums hemorrhage and their tissue becomes weak and spongy. Dentin, which lies below the enamel and is part of the root of teeth, breaks down.
Teeth loosen and eating becomes difficult and painful.
A personal account of scurvy. James Lind's observation that citrus fruits contained something that counteracted the ravages of scurvy was followed by his development of a method for the concentration and preservation of citrus fruit juices for use at sea. In 1795, the British Royal Navy provided a daily ration of lime or lemon juice to all its men. It was not until 1932, that W.A. Waugh and C.G. King at the University of Pittsburgh , and Albert Szent-Gyorgyi , a Hungarian scientist, isolated and synthesized ascorbic acid, or vitamin C. Curiously, only primates and guinea pigs are unable to manufacture vitamin C on their own, having lost the genetic information necessary for the production of this important cofactor. This document maintained by Robert J. Huskey Last updated on September 2, 1998.