Not only is the isolation of a vitamin in crystalline form a matter of theoretical importance but such a discovery also has possibilities in practical clinical application. In 1928 Szent-Györgi1isolated a chemical which he thought was hexuronic acid and which he believed to be identical with vitamin C. Well controlled experiments on laboratory animals with this substance demonstrated that it protected against scurvy and cured this disease when experimentally produced. Zilva2in 1932 and Waugh and King3in the same year published the results of such work. In 1933 the name of the isolated acid was changed to ascorbic acid, as its chemical formula became better known and it was found not to be a hexuronic acid. More recently the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association has designated cevitamic acid as the approved nonproprietary name for this substance.4 Merck and Company, who have supplied us with