Severe undernutrition in growing and adult animals

It is generally accepted that age affects the properties and composition of bone but it is not really clear from the papers of McCay, Crowell & Maynard (1935), McCay, Maynard, Sperling & Barnes (1939), or in the account by McCay (1942) whether the abnormalities in the bones described by them were the result of undernutrition or of old age. Undernutrition in young growing animals has a profound effect upon the structure of the bones (Pratt & McCance, 1960) and alters their chemical composition (Dickerson & McCance, 1961). It has also been found to produce bones which break up easily and splinter during cleaning. A series of bones from undernourished animals has, therefore, been subjected to the procedures described some time ago for studying their breaking stress and elasticity (Bell, Cuthbertson & Orr, 1941; Weir, Bell & Chambers, 1949). The same bones have been analysed for water and ash and the results are reported in this paper.