. The thyroid gland in health and disease. was very firm to the touch and was not nodular. Parathyroidglands could not be found in spite of the most careful search, A study of the histological appearances of the thyroid gland in the case revealed the fact that there was a great and uniform increase of the fibrous stroma of the organ (fig. 64). The glandular elements were atrophied and compressed. Typical vesicles were wholly absent and such as were present were almost 10 ]46 ENDEMIC CRETINISM completely obliterated. Traces only of inspissated colloid wereseen scattered here and there o
. The thyroid gland in health and disease. was very firm to the touch and was not nodular. Parathyroidglands could not be found in spite of the most careful search, A study of the histological appearances of the thyroid gland in the case revealed the fact that there was a great and uniform increase of the fibrous stroma of the organ (fig. 64). The glandular elements were atrophied and compressed. Typical vesicles were wholly absent and such as were present were almost 10 ]46 ENDEMIC CRETINISM completely obliterated. Traces only of inspissated colloid wereseen scattered here and there over the sections. The appearanceswere those of the gland in myxoedema. No trace of parathyroidtissue was found. Clearly, then, in this case there existed a pronounced defectnot only of the thyroid but also of the parathyroid condition of these organs, when considered in relation to theresults obtained by thyroid feeding in three similar cases, affordsgood ground for the belief that the nervous symptoms weredue to their Fig. 64.—Section of thyroid from case of nervous cretinism shown in fig. almost complete absence of colloid, great increase of fibrous stroma, loss ofvesicular structure and atrophy of parenchyma. X 50. Further histo-pathological evidence of the dependence of thesenervous symptoms on defect of the thyro-parathyroid apparatusis afforded by the work of Edmunds on thyro-parathyroid-ectomized dogs. Pronounced changes occurred in the centralnervous system in these animals which he attributed to loss of theparathyroids. In the spinal cord the changes are most marked inthe medium-sized and smaller cells : in many of these the (cell)body is partially or wholly destroyed. The Nissl bodies undergo DEAF-MUTISM AS ASSOCIATED WITH CRETINISM 147 chromatolysis, the nucleus is destroyed and the cell is invadedby stellate cells. Changes similar to those in the spinal cord arefound in all the cells of the medulla, though not so marked. Inthe cerebell
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyorkwilliamwood
