INFLUENCE OF A PROLONGED PARTILA DEFICIENCY OF VITAMIN C ON THE RECOVERY OF GUINEA PIGS FROM INJURY TO BONES AND MUSCLES

Abstract

ISRAEL and Frankel¹ and Schilowzew² have claimed that a deficiency of vitamin C in guinea pigs causes reopening of healed fractures, but Roegholt³ and Hertz⁴ could not confirm this finding. The former authors used diets which were probably deficient in vitamin D as well as in vitamin C, whereas Roegholt and Hertz supplied vitamin D. In view of these conflicting results we have studied the effect of a combined deficiency. Preliminary results had shown no indication of reopening of the callus on diets poor in vitamin C but containing ample vitamin D. In the present study we fractured the fibulae of guinea pigs of about 300 gm. weight while they were on diets containing 1 mgm. of ascorbic acid daily, an amount of the vitamin which maintains normal growth in animals of this weight. Fourteen days later when, as shown by preliminary experiments, the callus had been formed, the animals were transferred to diets partially deficient in vitamin C. To investigate the influence of vitamin D, two groups of guinea pigs were given a diet almost devoid of vitamin D, as described below. We may say at once that no reopening of healed fractures could be observed, but we found other results which we wish to report shortly in this communication.