Observations on Infantile Tetany

In an article entitled "Observations on the Calcium Content of the Blood in Infantile Tetany and the Effect of Treatment by Calcium" Howland and Marriott¹reviewed the essential points in the development of our knowledge of the disease, discussed the theories of its causation, the rôle of calcium and phosphates in its pathogenesis and the relationship between this condition and rickets. They determined the calcium content of the serum in a large series of cases of active tetany, and studied the effect of the administration of calcium chlorid on the clinical manifestations of the disease and on the calcium content of the serum. They concluded as follows: In tetany during the active symptoms the calcium of the serum is invariably greatly reduced and may fall as low as 3.5 mg. The average calcium content of the serum in eighteen cases was 5.6 mg. In convulsive disorders other than tetany