Row # _____
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Human Disease and Society
Assignment 10 – Metabolic Disease II
SCURVY – a disease that affects the integrity of many tissues of the body including the gums
1. Scurvy, referred to as _____________ by your author, was once thought to be a type of venereal disease
(sexually transmitted disease) because…
2. Dr. James Lind did much of the early work on scurvy. What navel experience did he have that likely
piqued his interest in this disease?
3. What was Captain James Cook policy to prevent scurvy?
4. What were scurvy grasses”?
5. Describe the “clinical research” (generally) done by Dr. James Lind AND the overall outcome.
6. In 1796, England officially implemented measures to prevent scurvy. What was the general impact of these
measures on the “navies” and/or other sea-going enterprises?
7. Your author suggests that abiding by this dietary plan led to the____________ winning the French and
Indian War (Seven Year War) and Canada becoming a/n ______________ territory.
8. What was the standard sailor’s ratio during Admiral Nelson’s time?
9. Briefly outline the events leading the famous victory of Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar. What role did
Nelson’s dietary policy have on this war and perhaps world history?
10. Admiral Nelson’s physician on board believed that scurvy was caused by high salt diet. What statistical
evidence would have given credibility to this possibility?
11. Why were/are British sailors called Limeys?
12. Why were West Indian limes not effective in preventing scurvy?
BERIBERI – a disease that effects the nervous system via its impact on nerve tissue
13. What was expected/thought to be the cause of Beriberi?
14. Why was this theory so prevalent and what relevance does it have to current efforts to better
understand new diseases?
15. Where did the term vitamin come from? (The previous chapter, Metab I, may help also)
16. Can you think of a current or more recent disease or disorder for which the cause was (or may be)
incorrect?
17. Beriberi is caused by a deficiency in ______________________. Summarize the food processing
that most often is associated with this disease and why it results in the disease?
18. Yet another “fowl” experiment and “dumb luck” helped Eijkman refine the understanding
of the etiology of the disease. Briefly explain what happened with his experiments and what
he learned from doing them. WE
19. What point is your author trying to make in the third (full) paragraph on page 78?
RICKETS – a disease that effects the normal development of the skeletal system
20. What was the cause of the Rickets “outbreak” in England and why was it worse in the industrial areas?
21. Rickets is caused by a deficiency of ________________. Though one can argue that it is not a true vitamin
deficiency, what dietary measures have been adopted that prevents the disease.
22. Briefly describe a social custom thought to be related to Rickets and explain how the custom supposedly
came about.
23. An orthopedist is a physician who specializes in joints, e.g., they do surgery on joints - reconstruction etc.
The term, somewhat of a misnomer, originated with medial procedures associated with Rickets. Briefly
explain how the name came about?
GOUT – a disease that effects the joints in your body causing sever pain similar to that experienced
when one incurs a sprain. It is caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood, which in turn results in
sodium urate crystals in the joints. A number of factors, including diet, precipitate this problem.
24. How was the treaty of Methuen related to an increased incidence of gout in England?
25. Why did Portuguese brandy contain such high levels of lead and how high were they?
26. Why was gout more common in the wealthy (men mostly) of England?
27. What chemical was used to treat gout?
28. Why did moonshine whiskey result increase the incidence of gout among those who drank it?
29. What point does the author make regarding technology and disease?