The specimen diets which are given above have another meaning aside from that just discussed. They show that on any of these diets a man would not suffer from a single deficiency, but from several, and that where scurvy was observed it seems evident that there must have been likewise a serious shortage of the anti-neuritic substance, and consequently a tendency for symptoms of neuritis to develop. Furthermore the diets listed are all decidedly deficient in one or more inorganic elements, notably calcium. In these diets poor in meat there was likewise a serious shortage of phosphorus as measured by the requirements of the rat.

It seems extremely probable, therefore, that in many instances where one of the diseases, beri-beri or scurvy, is diagnosed, the other exists as a complicating condition. This would account for the points of similarity in the manifestations of the two diseases as they have been described by several observers. It also raises the question as to whether the specific effects of lack of the anti-scorbutic substance or of the anti-neuritic substance, the remaining components of the diet being of optimal quality, can be said to be fully known, at least in the human subject.