Some notes on the role of research in the development of the modern treatment of exophthalmic goiter.

Abstract

THE title of this paper might imply that the writer is aware of a single method of treatment of exophthalmic goiter that supersedes all other treatments at the present time. This is not the fact. In this paper it is my intention to review a few of the events which, in the present era, have led to the establishment of a variety of treatments, any one of which may be justified to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the characteristics of the disease and of the patient who is host to the disease. Gregg (1) has stated that modern treatment is a confluence of science and empiricism. This is notably.true in the case of treatment of thyroid disease. Conant (2), in a splendid essay, “The Interrelation of Pure and Applied Science in the Field of Medicine,” tells us that in medicine we have gone through a long period of relative empiricism, and many brilliant advances have resulted from it. In comparatively recent years science has played an increasing part in advancing medical knowledge, but empiricism contin...