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Can we detect rickets from a blood test? What evidence pf rickets is in the blood and how is the blood treated to detect rickets?

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  • $\begingroup$ o one to answer :-( ? $\endgroup$ – user19897 Nov 8 '15 at 16:57
  • $\begingroup$ Confirming a suspected phenotype with an emperical test helps us determine the provenance of a disease. Coincidently, here's an easy to read article about Rickets I found some time ago: $\endgroup$ – SANBI samples Nov 8 '15 at 18:44
  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to Biology.SE. Blood is part of the phenotype. So you question (in the title) boils down to How can we infer anything about the phenotype by looking at it? The question can only be answered for a specific case (and you gave one so that's great). I would suggest to edit the title $\endgroup$ – Remi.b Jan 7 '16 at 20:29
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From the Wikipedia article I linked to in your question:

Serum calcium may show low levels of calcium, serum phosphorus may be low, and serum alkaline phosphatase may be high from bones or changes in the shape or structure of the bones.

There is also a rare genetic form of rickets called Vitamin D-resistant rickets or X-linked hypophosphatemia that can be diagnosed by DNA sequencing of cells collected by a blood draw.

It should be noted that, at least in the case of rickets, blood tests alone will not diagnose the disease. There are many other possible symptoms of the disease, so a patient presenting with one or more of these symptoms may also be subjected to a blood test to confirm the diagnosis, not just make it on its own.

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