[33] The beading may have the usual, rounded, smooth, knobby character.
There may be, however, what one might term "angular beading," the
junction taking on a step-like form, as if the abutting ends of the
cartilage and the bone were of unequal size and not well fitted to each
other. The cartilage overtops the bone, so that on palpating the joint
there is a precipitous fall as we run the finger outward from the
surface of the cartilage, or a sudden elevation on palpating the rib
from without inward toward the sternum.
This beading of the ribs, which involves mainly the middle tier, was
described by Holst and Froelich in their classic report of guinea-pig
scurvy, and has been noted by all subsequent investigators in this
field. It has usually been called "rhachitic" or "pseudo-rhachitic" in
spite of the fact that this junction is the site of typical scorbutic
microscopic lesions. Hart and Lessing refer to the "rhachitic rosary" in
monkeys, likewise not realizing that it is the product of scurvy.
The subperiosteal hemorrhage has long been recognized as a lesion
characteristic of scurvy.[34] It occurs exceptionally in the upper
extremities, and most commonly at the lower end of the femur; it may,
however, involve almost any of the bones, and has been described in
connection with the scapula, cranial vault, orbital plate of the frontal
bone, ribs, etc. It varies greatly in its size, being confined to a
small area or extending a long distance on the shaft of the bone. It
rarely is as large as one would expect from external appearance, as much
of the swelling is due to edema and hemorrhage into the soft parts. The
periosteum rarely becomes separated at the line of junction of the
epiphysis and diaphysis. The underlying blood coagulates rapidly, and
the periosteum begins to calcify within a few weeks, as shown by the
X-ray.
[34] There seems to be some misconception as to the pathogenesis of the
subperiosteal hemorrhage in scurvy. In most reports this lesion is
described as if it resulted from a hemorrhage burrowing its way beneath
the periosteum and raising it from the subjacent bone. In point of fact,
such an event is impossible, as will be fully realized when one
experiences the great difficulty in separating periosteum from normal
bone. Scurvy involves a periosteum which is not normal; it is insecurely
attached to the shaft of the bone, so that it is readily stripped off by
hemorrhage.
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