Infantile scurvy: the centenary of Barlow's disease.

An historical survey reviews the occurrence of infantile scurvy over the past 3 centuries, briefly describing the clear exposition of the disease, its cause, and cure by Sir Thomas Barlow at the age of 37. Barlow first narrated a typical case of a 1.5 year-old child, analyzed symptoms in 12 other cases, and added 19 reported by other investigators. In 1897, Britain's Surgeon General's catalog listed 54 references to Barlow's disease. Barlow noted that breastfed infants did not get scurvy, that meat and cow's milk were antiscorbutic (but less so than vegetables), and that the antiscorbutic potency was destroyed by heating. On his 90th birthday, Barlow was presented with a special copy of a text devoted entirely to the condition that he had described over 50 years earlier. (wz)