Scurvy

How I came to be looking up scurvy is a long story which begins with looking for information on prolactin, dopamine, oxytocin, and porn. The path from there to scurvy was not direct and is probably more due to individual "click" interest/preference behavior than to anything linking the topics of neuroendocrinology and vitamin C.

Still, there I was. Looking at the symptoms of scurvy. And here's something I found very interesting (from the link):

Some other important symptoms of scurvy are gradual weakening, pale skin, sunken eyes, tender gums, muscle pain, loss of teeth, internal bleeding, and the opening of wounds such as sword cuts that had healed many years before.

So I'm thinking, who the hell was this written for? The opening of sword wounds is not just any old symptom, it's an important symptom.

I'm imagining the exam, a third year med student standing there nervously glancing between the chart, his notes, and filthy pirate wearing a drafty gown and sitting on the paper lined exam table.

"Ok Mr. um... Mr. Yellow"
"Arrgh, me given name's 'Yellar'. 'Beard' is me surname. You can just call me 'Matey'!"
"Er...Yes. So uh, Matey. I notice your gums look a bit spongy and...oops, there goes a tooth."
"yarrrrr..."
"I need to ask you, have you noticed any old sword wounds opening up again lately?"