PROGRESS IN ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY FOR 1944 A Review Prepared by an Editorial Board of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons:  XXII. Research

Bone Growth Repair and Metabolism.  —The effects of ascorbic acid on the healing of fractures are discussed in an experimental study by Roche and Martin-Poggi.⁷⁷²As there is considerable difference of opinion among experimenters, it seemed appropriate to the authors to make new experimental studies in order to establish the role of vitamin C in the repair of fractures. Ashley Cooper called attention to the relation of the consolidation of fractures with absence of fresh food, and numerous authors have remarked on the absence of ascorbic acid and its adverse effect on callus formation. The action of ascorbic acid manifests itself principally in the formation of connective tissue in fractures and in the development of experimental granulomas. The experiments of the author have shown that the effect of ascorbic acid on the entire callus formation is as follows: 1. The organization of connective tissue matrix is influenced by ascorbic