THREE CASES OF MASKED HYPOTHYROIDISM HAVING ABDOMINAL SYMPTOMS

Abstract

CONDITIONS due to absence or marked diminution of thyroid function are well known and diagnosis is comparatively easy. There are mild degrees of the condition in which the glaring symptomatology of cretinism or myxedema in the adult is not conspicuous. In the presence of a past history of thyroidectomy, one's attention may be directed to the possibility of a postoperative hypothyroidism, but in the absence of such in an individual who had been reasonably well, hypothyroid states too often escape pointed attention. Masked hypothryoidism may be the underlying cause of serious gastrointestinal disturbances and may imitate symptoms of chronic involvement of abdominal structures. Hertoghe, who first recognized masked hypothyroidism, drew attention to the part played by consanguinity and heredity. It may be assumed that different organs in the body have different thresholds for thyroxine, that some require more and some require less than other organs for normal physiological functions. This is suggested in the ...