A historical name for pellagra, the niacin-deficiency disease, so called because it was once observed in Alpine regions and confused with scurvy. The misnomer reflects an era when deficiency diseases were poorly distinguished: both caused skin lesions and debility, but pellagra’s classic triad of dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia stems from lack of niacin or its precursor tryptophan, not vitamin C. It ravaged populations dependent on untreated maize, which contains niacin in an unavailable bound form, until the link to diet was proven and flour fortification and dietary diversification brought it under control. The term survives in older medical texts as a reminder of how clinical observation outran biochemical understanding, and of how a single dietary factor can shape the health of entire regions.