The definition of Rickets: a disease affecting primarily children, characterized by softening of developing bones, malnutrition, and enlargement of the liver and spleen, caused by a lack of vitamin D, which causes bending of the bones brought and other symptomsWhat was previously believed about the disease:The Greek physician Soranus of Ephosus found deformations in the bones of newborns as early as the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. By 1850 most doctors agreed that the disease it had something to do with dirty skin in the pure air and late weaning. In 1880 they did a survey that showed that almost no children in the country or in a city of 5,000 or fewer had rickets; also during this period they examined and the relationship between rickets and syphilis was much debated. The term rickets comes from the Old English word "wrickken," meaning to twist or bend. Rickets was common in the United Kingdom and United States during the 19th century. Yet rickets was not defeated as a specific disease until 1645 by Daniel Whistler who gave the first description of the disease. In 1600, a wealthy family in Tuscany had a son with rickets due to his comfortable lifestyle which usually involved staying at home. This is strange because rickets is usually associated with poverty and living in heavily polluted, cramped cities where there is little exposure to sunlight. . A royal child known as Philip had a deformed skull due to the rickets shown in my slideshow image. 16th century thinking also called for newborns to be heavily swaddled. Historical texts suggest that at that time breast milk was supplemented with 'baby food' made of soft bread and apples. Medici babies, wrapped in many heavy layers and cuddled in large homes, probably did not receive the same amount of sunlight as... half of paper ...... risk breast milk contains only a small amount of vitamin D. this was found to be a problem even in the 16th century because it was normal for babies to mostly drink your milk within two years of their life. An ABC NEWS report looked at 380 children under the age of 2 and 12% were deficient in vitamin D and 40% did not have the desirable amount in their bodies, report by Dustin Lushing. So, although not many children suffer from rickets, it is still a problem in some areas where there is a lack of education about the disease and how important the right amount of vitamin D and sunshine in moderation is. Stories of Rickets: In the South East of England 2 parents were jailed for 2-3 years because their son died of rickets, the boy's medical care was neglected due to the parents' religious beliefs. Rickets can often be confused with child abuse because the disease causes bones to break easily.