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cover of episode South Pole Race: When the Limeys Get Scurvy

South Pole Race: When the Limeys Get Scurvy

2022/8/12
logo of podcast Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
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本集探讨了斯科特探险队南极探险中发生的坏血病悲剧。尽管英国海军此前已经掌握了预防坏血病的方法，但斯科特探险队却因为对坏血病成因的误解以及对预防措施的失效而导致队员患病，最终酿成悲剧。探险队队员出现牙龈出血、关节剧痛、瘀伤和伤口难以愈合等坏血病症状。探险队队长斯科特及其队员在返程途中因极度疲惫、伤病和营养缺乏，最终全部遇难。本集还回顾了历史上坏血病的危害，以及詹姆斯·林德对坏血病研究的贡献和局限性，并探讨了霍尔斯特和弗罗利希在1907年发现豚鼠也会患坏血病，证实坏血病是营养缺乏症，但他们的发现并未及时被南极探险家采纳。

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The episode explores how Captain Scott's expedition to the South Pole in 1912 suffered from scurvy, despite the British Navy's historical knowledge of preventing it with lime juice. The narrative delves into the historical context of scurvy prevention and the specific failures that led to its resurgence in Scott's expedition.

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Polar exploration is dangerous... but trudging hundreds of miles in subzero temperatures isn't made any easier if you're suffering from scurvy. The deadly vitamin deficiency destroys the body and will of even the strongest and most determined adventurer - and it seems that scurvy stuck down the ill-fated expedition of Captain Scott. 

But scurvy... in 1912? Hadn't the Royal Navy to which Scott belonged famously cracked the problem of scurvy a century before, with a daily dose of lime juice? How did the 'Limeys' seemingly unlearn that lesson? 

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