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rickets

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rickets
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rick⋅ets

  [rik-its]
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–noun Pathology.
a disease of childhood, characterized by softening of the bones as a result of inadequate intake of vitamin D and insufficient exposure to sunlight, also associated with impaired calcium and phosphorus metabolism.
Origin:
1635–45; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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rickets
Free Supplement Update Newsletter Written by Dr. Ray Sahelian, M.D.
www.RaySahelian.com
rick·ets   (rĭk'ĭts)   
n.   (used with a sing. or pl. verb)
A deficiency disease resulting from a lack of vitamin D or calcium and from insufficient exposure to sunlight, characterized by defective bone growth and occurring chiefly in children. Also called rachitis.

[Origin unknown.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

rickets 
1634, of uncertain origin. Originally a local name for the disease in Dorset and Somerset, England. Some derive it from a Dorset word, rucket "to breathe with difficulty," but the sense connection is difficult. The Mod.L. name for the disease, rachitis, comes from Late Gk. rhachitis "inflammation of the spine," from Gk. rhakhis "spine," but this was chosen by Whistler for resemblance to rickets. Rickety "liable to fall down" (1685) is from rickets via notion of "weak, unhealthy," but has rarely been used in its literal sense.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: rick·ets
Pronunciation: 'rik-&ts
Function: noun plural but singular in construction
: a deficiency disease that affects the youngduring the period of skeletal growth, is characterized especially by soft and deformed bones, and is caused by failure to assimilate and use calcium and phosphorus normally due to inadequate sunlightor vitamin D called also rachitis
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

rickets rick·ets (rĭk'ĭts)
n.
A deficiency disease resulting from a lack of vitamin D or calcium and from insufficient exposure to sunlight, characterized by defective bone growth and occurring chiefly in children. Also called infantile osteomalacia, juvenile osteomalacia, rachitis.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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