PTE · Reorder Paragraphs

Scurvy and Maritime Medicine

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1

Early Shipboard Clinical Trials

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  1. ATo test competing remedies, one practitioner divided twelve afflicted sailors aboard a warship into six distinct pairs.
  2. BThe two men allocated oranges and lemons recovered rapidly, providing early empirical evidence of an effective treatment.
  3. CIn the eighteenth century, naval surgeons struggled to treat the mysterious wasting disease that afflicted long-distance mariners.
  4. DEach pair received a different dietary supplement alongside their standard rations, ranging from cider to fresh citrus fruit.

Questions 2–5

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2

Collagen Synthesis and Nutritional Breakdown

  1. AWithout stable collagen fibres, the body cannot maintain structural integrity in blood vessels and connective tissues.
  2. BConsequently, affected mariners suffered bleeding gums, opening wounds, and fatal internal haemorrhaging during long voyages.
  3. CScurvy results from a severe dietary deficiency of ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C.
  4. DIn human biochemistry, this essential compound acts as a vital cofactor for enzymes producing collagen.
  5. EThese debilitating physical symptoms subsided only after fresh provisions restored normal cellular synthesis.
3

Preservation Errors with Citrus Rations

  1. AAs an unforeseen consequence, expeditions that relied entirely on boiled citrus extracts experienced catastrophic and baffling resurgences of the disease.
  2. BTo keep these liquid rations palatable during long sea voyages, naval contractors boiled the juice inside large copper vats.
  3. CHowever, this intense thermal processing inadvertently degraded the fragile ascorbic acid molecules essential for preventing the illness.
  4. DBy the nineteenth century, British maritime authorities routinely issued preserved lime juice to prevent outbreaks of scurvy among crews.
4

Indigenous Remedies in Northern Waters

  1. AAlthough unknown to Western medicine at the time, these native broths contained abundant concentrations of ascorbic acid.
  2. BLocal indigenous communities offered relief by brewing rich herbal infusions made from evergreen tree bark and needles.
  3. CEarly European navigators who wintered in uncharted northern regions frequently succumbed to devastating outbreaks of scurvy.
  4. DCut off from fresh agricultural supplies, stranded crews rapidly developed painful joint swelling and extreme exhaustion.
  5. EBy adopting this local remedy, several surviving crews successfully arrested their symptoms until the spring thaw.
5

Dietary Logistics in the Age of Sail

  1. AWhile such dense provisions resisted microbial spoilage, they completely lacked the heat-sensitive micronutrients present in fresh green produce.
  2. BWeeks of subsisting exclusively on these depleted staples inevitably drained the sailors' bodily reserves, precipitating massive outbreaks of scurvy.
  3. CLong-distance warships during the Age of Sail required durable foodstuffs that could endure months in damp, unventilated cargo holds.
  4. DTo satisfy this logistical requirement, naval administrators provisioned fleets primarily with salted beef, rock-hard biscuits, and dried pulses.

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