Dietary factors in the pathogenesis of simple goiter.

Abstract

FOR centuries the cervical swelling known as “goiter” or “bronchocele” has remained a mystery that has intrigued the curious mind of both layman and physician. Although for over a century now it has been generally recognized that the underlying pathology of this condition is an enlargement of a peculiar paratracheal mass of tissue known as the “thyroid gland,” little advancement has been made toward a comprehension of the etiology of the disease since the middle of the last century, when Chatin published his classic experiments demonstrating an inverse relationship between the incidence of goiter and the concentration of iodine. Thanks to the work of such twentieth century pioneers as Marine, McClendon, von Fellenberg, Hercus, and others, the iodine-deficiency theory is now generally accepted, and the governments of some countries where goiter is common have passed, or are now attempting to have passed, legislation which makes the fortification of table salt with potassium iodide mandatory. Such action is...