Concept:
Vitamins are essential micronutrients required by the body to execute vital metabolic functions. A lack of specific vitamins leads to distinct nutritional deficiency diseases.
Step 1:
Scurvy is a disease characterized by bleeding gums, weakness, fatigue, skin spots, and poor wound healing. It is directly caused by a prolonged deficiency of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), which is required for synthesis of collagen in the body.
Step 2:
Let us verify the deficiency conditions of the other choices:
• Vitamin D deficiency leads to rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
• Vitamin A deficiency leads to night blindness (xerophthalmia).
• Vitamin E deficiency leads to neuromuscular problems and hemolytic anemia.
Thus, Option (A) is the correct answer.