Dry-bone manifestations of rickets in infancy and early childhood

Rickets and the industrial revolution in France: The example of Provence

“…They generally become evident between 8 and 24 months (Elder & Bishop, 2014). It is also in agreement with paleopathological studies (Brickley et al, 2018; Mays et al, 2006; Ortner & Mays, 1998; Veselka et al, 2015; Veselka et al, 2021; Watts & Valme, 2018). It seems then that specimens affected by rickets are more likely to die during infancy.…”

An ill child among mid‐Holocene foragers of Southern Africa

“…Many of the abnormal features of this infant are consistent with the skeletal criteria of juvenile rickets (Ortner and Mays,1998) (Table 2). The deformation of the sternal rib ends, in the manner of the well‐known “rachitic rosary,” the cupping of the distal ulna, and the slight bowing of several long bones are consistent with rickets (Jaffe,1972).…”

Skeletal manifestations of rickets in infants and young children in a historic population from England

“…In general terms, the macroscopic features of cortical bone porosity, thickening of sternal rib ends and long-bone metaphyses, and distortion of bones in response to mechanical loading resemble those which were observed previously in paleopathological studies of rickets in immature remains (Ortner and Mays, 1998;Littleton, 1998;Blondiaux et al, 2002;Pfeiffer and Crowder, 2004). However, some distinctive features were observed that are not well-documented in the paleopathological literature.…”

“…3). We interpret this as a change more slight than any documented by Ortner and Mays (1998) for the Wharram Percy cases. The appearance of the subchondral surface under scanning electron microscopy seems to support this interpretation.…”

“…This supports the notion that they are all a manifestation of a single disease. Ortner and Mays (1998) argued that this was rickets, and the current work gives no cause to doubt this. On the contrary, the co-occurrence of these features, together with further gross alterations characteristic of inadequate mineralization of bone, and with radiographic changes consistent with the clinical picture of rickets, serves to strengthen that conclusion.…”