Biology project
Presented by – jayesh agrawal
Class -11 c
Roll no- 96
Session 2019-2020
Acknowledgements –I want to thank Dr sunil agrawal for
giving his important time for this project I would also like to
thank my biology
Teacher to gave me this project so that I can learn something
new
introduction
Rickets
Rickets is a condition that results in
weak or soft bones in
children.[1] Symptoms include bowed
legs, stunted growth, bone pain, large
forehead, and trouble
sleeping.[1][2] Complications may
include bone fractures, muscle spasms,
an abnormally curved spine,
or intellectual disability
History
• Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus, one of the chief
representatives of the Methodic school of medicine who practiced
in Alexandria and subsequently in Rome, reported deformation of
the bones in infants as early as the first and second centuries AD.
Rickets was not defined as a specific medical condition until 1645,
when an English physician Daniel Whistler gave the earliest known
description of the disease. In 1650 a treatise on rickets was
published by Francis Glisson, a physician at Caius College,
Cambridge,[49] who said it had first appeared about 30 years
previously in the counties of Dorset and Somerset.[50] In 1857,
John Snow suggested rickets, then widespread in Britain, was being
caused by the adulteration of bakers' bread with alum.[51] German
pediatrician Kurt Huldschinsky successfully demonstrated in the
winter of 1918–1919 how rickets could be treated with ultraviolet
lamps. The role of diet in the development of rickets[52][53] was
determined by Edward Mellanby between 1918–1920.[54]
Signs and symptoms
• Signs and symptoms of rickets can include bone tenderness,
and a susceptibility for bone fractures particularly greenstick
fractures.[9] Early skeletal deformities can arise in infants such
as soft, thinned skull bones – a condition known
as craniotabes,[10][11] which is the first sign of rickets; skull
bossing may be present and a delayed closure of
the fontanelles.
• Young children may have bowed legs and thickened ankles and
wrists;[12] older children may have knock knees.[9] Spinal
curvatures of kyphoscoliosis or lumbar lordosis may be
present. The pelvic bones may be deformed. A condition
known as rachitic rosary can result as the thickening caused by
nodules forming on the costochondral joints. This appears as a
visible bump in the middle of each rib in a line on each side of
the body. This somewhat resembles a rosary, giving rise to its
name. The deformity of a pigeon chest[9] may result in the
presence of Harrison's groove.
Cause
• deficiencies of vitamins may be the cause of
overt bone disease from before birth and
impairment of bone quality after birth.[15][16]
The primary cause of congenital rickets is vitamin
D deficiency in the mother's blood, which the
baby shares.[16] Vitamin D ensures that serum
phosphate and calcium levels are sufficient to
facilitate the mineralization of bone.[17]
Congenital rickets may also be caused by other
maternal diseases, including severe osteomalacia,
untreated celiac disease, malabsorption, pre-
eclampsia, and premature birth
Diagnosis
• Rickets may be diagnosed with the help of:
• Blood tests:[34]
• Serum calcium may show low levels of calcium,
serum phosphorus may be low, and serum alkaline
phosphatase may be high from bones or changes
in the shape or structure of the bones. This can
show enlarged limbs and joints.
• A bone density scan may be undertaken
• Radiography typically show widening of the zones of
provisional calcification of the metaphyses secondary
to unmineralized osteoid. Cupping, fraying, and
splaying of metaphyses typically appears with
growth and continued weight bearing.
