A childhood disease caused by vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate deficiency, resulting in soft, weak bones that may become deformed. It's the pediatric equivalent of osteomalacia.
From Middle English 'rickets' possibly derived from Greek 'rhakhitis' meaning 'inflammation of the spine'. The term has been used since the 17th century to describe this childhood bone disease.
Rickets is like trying to build a house with wet cement that never hardens! Growing children need vitamin D to properly mineralize their developing bones, and without it, their skeletons stay soft and bendable like clay, leading to the classic bowed legs and other deformities as gravity literally reshapes their flexible bones.
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