Which vitamin's deficiency disease is scurvy?

Scurvy is the deficiency disease caused by inadequate vitamin C.

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is required for collagen production, a process essential to healthy skin, blood vessels, bones, cartilage, and connective tissue. When the body lacks it for a prolonged period, wounds heal poorly and fragile blood vessels can cause bleeding gums, bruising, and small skin hemorrhages. Fatigue and weakness are also common features.

Scurvy became notorious among sailors on long voyages, who often lacked fresh fruit and vegetables. In the eighteenth century, James Lind’s shipboard experiments helped show that citrus fruits could prevent the disease, although the nutritional explanation was not yet understood. The British Navy later issued lime juice, contributing to the nickname “limeys.”

Vitamin C is water-soluble, so the body stores relatively little and regular dietary intake matters. Citrus fruits are well-known sources, but peppers, broccoli, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables also provide it. Vitamin K is linked to blood clotting, vitamin D to calcium regulation and bone health, and vitamin A to vision and epithelial tissues—not scurvy.