TRACING THE THYROID HORMONE IN PERIPHERAL TISSUES*†

Abstract

THE thyroid is a fascinating gland. Over 120 years ago Hofrichter (1), in speculating on the function of the organ, suggested that it had been provided by nature to adorn the beauty of the neck. Indeed, he called attention to its particular prominence in women and pointed out that men should beware of casting their eyes upon that organ. “Ist es nichts weniger als erwiesen, dass die Schilddrüse zu einer Zeit mehr Blut enthalte, als zu einer anderen—dieses würde der Augenschein lehren, und die Frauen würden schon längst die Mode mit entblösstem Halse zu gehen, verlassen, und die Männer schon langst das Schwellen dieser Drüse als Anzeige der von Seiten der schönen Halfte drohenden Gefahr bemerkt und benutzt haben.” This peculiar fascination of the thyroid holds even today for surgeons, physicians and physiologists. They have become so entranced in the mysteries of the gland itself that they have forgotten that, after all, the gland's chief function is to manufacture a hormone—a chemical messenger which it distributes by way of the blood stream to all tissues of the body. What is the nature of this hormone and what function does it serve ultimately?