TREATMENT OF SIMPLE GOITER WITH THYROID*

Abstract

MEDICATION with thyroid was first used in the treatment of simple nontoxic goiter at a time when little was known of the physiology of the thyroid gland. Though the results were most gratifying, this form of treatment was largely abandoned almost fifty years ago. An investigation into this curious state of affairs disclosed a sequence of events which is interesting but not unique, since it has occurred in the case of other effective therapeutic agents. The present report comprises a summary of the medical literature dealing with this subject and an account of results personally obtained over a five-year period. Prior to the introduction of thyroid as a therapy for simple goiter, iodine in one form or another was used for many years. Even before the element had been discovered, preparations now known to contain iodine were in use. Local applications of burnt sponge were employed in Europe before the twelfth century (41), and the use of various substances of marine origin was known to early nineteenth century European and American physicians.