Plural of avitaminosis; diseases or conditions caused by vitamin deficiency, such as scurvy or beriberi.
From a- (not) + vitamines + -osis (condition). The term was created when scientists discovered that lack of specific vitamins caused specific diseases.
Before we understood vitamins, sailors would mysteriously sicken and die on long voyages—when they finally realized it was avitaminosis from lack of fresh food, it revolutionized nutrition science and saved millions of lives.
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