Analysis of nutritional disease in prehistory: The search for scurvy in antiquity and today.

In this paper, we discuss the issues surrounding the study of scurvy, or vitamin C deficiency, in paleopathology, and highlight the work of Donald Ortner in advancing this area of research. This micronutrient deficiency impacts collagen formation and results in damage to a variety of bodily tissues. While clinical manifestations are observed routinely, the lack of specific signatures on bone makes paleopathological diagnosis difficult.