[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [General pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/) › [Nutritional pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/#a-nutrition) › Vitamin deficiencies: what each one does to tissue [General pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/) · [Nutritional pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/#a-nutrition) # Vitamin deficiencies: what each one does to tissue - Topic Each missing vitamin leaves its own mark: night blindness, soft bones, bleeding gums, nerve damage, rash or large red cells. Updated 2026-11-01 ## Key points - Vitamin C: collagen cannot be hydroxylated → weak vessels: bleeding gums, perifollicular haemorrhage. - Vitamin D: unmineralised osteoid; rickets in children, osteomalacia in adults. - Thiamine: beriberi and Wernicke; classic in alcohol use disorder. - Pellagra: the three Ds, dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia. - B12 vs folate: both megaloblastic; only B12 gives neurological damage and raised methylmalonic acid. ## What it is Vitamins are cofactors and signals that tissues need to build collagen, bone, DNA and nerve. A deficiency comes from poor diet, malabsorption, alcohol use disorder, certain drugs or higher needs (pregnancy, growth). The lesions follow directly from what the vitamin does; the biochemistry is in the Bioquímica vitamin pages. ## Key facts - Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of preventable childhood blindness and raises measles mortality. - Pellagra may appear in Hartnup disease, carcinoid syndrome and with isoniazid, besides poor diets based on maize. - Excess of vitamin A is also harmful: raised intracranial pressure, liver injury and birth defects. - Folic acid before conception prevents many neural tube defects. ## Vitamin deficiencies and their tissue lesions | Deficiency | Vitamin role | Tissue lesion | | --- | --- | --- | | [Vitamin A](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vitamin-a-deficiency/) | Retinal pigment and epithelial differentiation | Night blindness, xerophthalmia, Bitot spots, keratomalacia, squamous metaplasia of airway and urinary epithelium, poor immunity | | [Vitamin D](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/rickets-and-osteomalacia/) | Calcium and phosphate absorption, bone mineralisation | Rickets in children (bowed legs, rachitic rosary, craniotabes); osteomalacia in adults | | [Vitamin C](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/scurvy/) | Hydroxylation of proline and lysine in collagen | Scurvy: bleeding gums, perifollicular haemorrhages, corkscrew hairs, poor wound healing, subperiosteal bleeding | | [Thiamine (B1)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/beriberi/) | Cofactor of pyruvate dehydrogenase and transketolase | Dry beriberi (neuropathy), wet beriberi (high-output heart failure), Wernicke-Korsakoff | | [Niacin (B3)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/pellagra/) | NAD and NADP | Pellagra: photosensitive dermatitis, diarrhoea, dementia | | [Folate and B12](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/megaloblastic-anaemia/) | DNA synthesis | Megaloblastic anaemia; B12 also subacute combined degeneration; folate lack: neural tube defects | | [Vitamin K](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vitamin-k-deficiency-bleeding-of-the-newborn/) | Carboxylation of factors II, VII, IX, X, protein C and S | Bleeding; haemorrhagic disease of the newborn | | Vitamin E | Membrane antioxidant | Haemolysis, spinocerebellar ataxia, neuropathy | ## Memory aid A for the eyes, D for the bones, C for collagen, B1 for nerves and heart, B3 for skin and mind, K for clotting. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## Why do the gums bleed in scurvy? Without vitamin C, collagen cannot be hydroxylated and cross-linked, so capillary walls and gums are fragile. ## What is the difference between rickets and osteomalacia? Both are defective mineralisation of osteoid from vitamin D lack; rickets occurs in growing children (growth plates involved), osteomalacia in adults. ## Which deficiency causes squamous metaplasia of the respiratory epithelium? Vitamin A deficiency. ## Which finding separates B12 deficiency from folate deficiency? B12 deficiency gives neurological damage (subacute combined degeneration) and high methylmalonic acid; folate deficiency does not. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/general-pathology/vitamin-deficiencies-what-each-one-does-to-tissue/) ## Related - [Metaplasia](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/metaplasia/) - [Severe acute malnutrition: marasmus and kwashiorkor](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/severe-acute-malnutrition-marasmus-and-kwashiorkor/) ## Related conditions - [Vitamin A deficiency (night blindness and xerophthalmia)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vitamin-a-deficiency/) - [Rickets and osteomalacia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/rickets-and-osteomalacia/) - [Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/scurvy/) - [Beriberi (thiamine deficiency)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/beriberi/) - [Pellagra (niacin deficiency)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/pellagra/) - [Megaloblastic anaemia (B12 or folate deficiency)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/megaloblastic-anaemia/) - [Wernicke encephalopathy (thiamine deficiency)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/wernicke-encephalopathy/) - [Pernicious anaemia](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/pernicious-anaemia/) - [Subacute combined degeneration (vitamin B12)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/subacute-combined-degeneration/) - [Vitamin K deficiency bleeding of the newborn](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/vitamin-k-deficiency-bleeding-of-the-newborn/) - [Spina bifida (myelomeningocele)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/spina-bifida/) - [Hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/hypervitaminosis-a/) - [Hartnup disease](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/hartnup-disease/) ## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - [Vitamin A (retinol)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/vitamin-a/) - [Vitamin D (calcitriol)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/vitamin-d/) - [Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/vitamin-c/) - [Thiamine (vitamin B1)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/thiamine/) - [Niacin (vitamin B3)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/niacin/) - [Folate (vitamin B9)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/folate/) - [Cobalamin (vitamin B12)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/topics/cobalamin/) - [Vitamin K (phylloquinone)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/vitamin-k/) - [Vitamin E (α-tocopherol)](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/molecules/vitamin-e/) - [Collagen synthesis](https://durgical.com/en/biochemistry/topics/collagen-synthesis/) - [Vitamins and minerals: a physiological overview](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/vitamins-and-minerals-a-physiological-overview/) - [Calcium regulation: PTH, vitamin D and calcitonin](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/calcium-regulation-pth-vitamin-d-and-calcitonin/) - [Folic acid and neural tube defect prevention](https://durgical.com/en/embryology/folic-acid-and-neural-tube-defect-prevention/) [← All of general pathology](https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/) Educational content on the mechanisms of disease; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given. Sources: [Vitamin A deficiency](https://www.who.int/data/nutrition/nlis/info/vitamin-a-deficiency) (World Health Organization, 2026); [Scurvy: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000355.htm) (MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026); [Beriberi: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000339.htm) (MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026); [Pellagra: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000342.htm) (MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vitamin-deficiencies-what-each-one-does-to-tissue/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/general-pathology/vitamin-deficiencies-what-each-one-does-to-tissue/