Rickets is caused by inadequate exposure to sunlight or dietary lack of vitamin D and occurs in childhood. It is characterized by rapidly growing bones grow soft and eventually bend under the weight of the body due to poor of calcium and phosphorus deposition.
Vitamin D also essential for normal development and maintenance of muscles and in rickets the muscles are greatly weakened, tender and sore.
It’s a defect in the mineralization of bone matrix with increase bone mass. Weight-bearing bones buckle, the head becomes malformed, wrists and ankles become enlarged and the sternum bows to resemble a pigeon breast.
If the rickets develop in the first 6 months of life, infants may suffer from convulsions or develop tetany, but have only minor skeletal changes; however, after 6 months, bone abnormalities, pain as well as tetany, are likely to be present.
Rickets due to vitamin D deficiency
