HistoryGeneral: scurvy is the clinical state arising from dietary deficiency of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The Egyptians recorded scurvy as early as 1550 BC. Epidemics were witnessed during the Renaissance era (16th-18th century), at which time scurvy was the scourge of the sea explorers. In 1746, James Lind, a British naval surgeon, established the fact that oranges and lemons were effective in curing scurvy.