Vitamin D deficiency exists when the concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25-OH-D) in the blood serum occurs at 12 ng/ml (nanograms/milliliter), or less. The normal concentration of 25-hydroxy-vitamin D in the blood serum is 25-50 ng/ml. When vitamin...

Rickets (or rachitis) is a bone disorder primarily caused by a deficiency of vitamin D during a child's prime bone-growing years. The lack of vitamin D seriously affects the body's ability to absorb and use calcium, the mineral most necessary for the...

Osteomalacia the general term for the softening of the bones due to defective bone mineralization. Osteomalacia in children is known as rickets, and because of this, osteomalacia is often restricted to the milder, adult form of the disease. It may show...