In third-world countries, many young children with severe vitamin C deficiency will exhibit:

Question

A) Impaired formation of the organic matrix
B) Calcification of new bone growth
C) Growth plate separation
D) Widening of the cortex

Answer 1

Ans: A
Feedback:
Scurvy (i.e., vitamin C deficiency) impairs the formation of the organic matrix of bone, causing slowing of growth at the epiphyseal plate and cessation of diaphyseal growth. In rickets (i.e., vitamin D deficiency), calcification of the newly developed bone is impaired. Epiphyseal separation can occur in children as the result of trauma; blood vessels that nourish the epiphysis rupture, causing cessation of growth and a shortened extremity. Bone growth in diameter occurs as concentric rings containing osteocytes are added to the bone surface cortex, unrelated to vitamin deficiency.