EFFECTS ON THE THYROID AND PARATHYROID GLANDS 437 



Tallquist ('22), Curschmann ('22a) and others explain the marked decrease 

 in the frequency of exopthalmic goiter during the war as due to the thyroid 

 atrophy and functional depression resulting from inanition. 



In the fetus or newborn of malnourished mothers, Perrando ('02) noted a 

 decreased weight in the thyroid gland, with "cirrhotic atrophy," including 

 flattening of the follicular epithelium. 



In atrophic infants, Thompson ('07) found the thyroid weight reduced to 

 1 g. The follicles were filled by detached epithelial cells, with no colloid, and 

 the interfollicular stroma was abundant. Lucien ('08) also noted thyroid 

 atrophy in athreptic infants: "Les follicules thyro'idiens sont etouffes par la 

 sclerose envahissante." Helmholz ('09) likewise found an increase in the 

 fibrous stroma, with atrophic follicles and flattened, partly desquamated cells 

 in 3 out of 6 cases. Nearly all the lumina contained some colloid. 



A similar thyroid atrophy was found by Alezais and Mattei ('13) and by 

 Mattei ('14) in 15 athreptic infants. The thyroid was greatly reduced in size 

 (not above 1.6 g.) with a characteristic interstitial sclerosis, but no nuclear 

 proliferation, fibroblasts, plasma cells or new vessel formation. The follicles, 

 epithelium and colloid present various stages of atrophy, degeneration and 

 disintegration. Lesage ('14) noted a thyroid weight of 1 g. (compared with 

 the normal of 5 g.) in an atrophic infant of 4 months. Lesage and Cleret found 

 sclerosis the fundamental lesion in the thyroid and other glands in congenital 

 spasmodic atrophy. The thyroid lesions in atrophic infants were reviewed by 

 Nobecourt ('16) and Marfan ('21). 



In famine-stricken children 1-16 years old, Nicolaeff ('23) found the 

 thyroid gland very atrophic, 45-70 per cent subnormal in weight according to 

 age. Microscopic sections showed follicular aplasia, with flattening and des- 

 quamation of the epithelium. The glandular atrophy results in hypothyroidism. 

 Similar effects were described by Stefko ('23a). 



Some individual data for the thyroid weight in atrophic (Minnesota) infants 

 are included in Table 3. It is evident that although there is much individual 

 variation, the weight of the thyroid gland is usually much below even the 

 normal birth weight (2.44 g.). In some cases, however, the weight of the 

 gland appears nearly proportional to the body weight. 



Among animals the data are more numerous and will be reviewed in approxi- 

 mately chronological order, excepting a few observations during hibernation, 

 which are placed at the close of this section. 



In a starved dog, Voit ('94) found the thyroid gland nearly 50 per cent larger 

 than in a normal control, probably due to individual variation. 



Barbera ('02) and Barbera and Bicci ('03) studied the thyroid gland in 3 

 rabbits and 1 dog subjected to total inanition, with loss of 30-34 per cent in 

 body weight. No data on the weights of the thyroid were given, but the cells 

 appeared atrophic, the loss being greater in the cytoplasm than in the nucleus. 

 The nuclei became relatively elongated, (the average being 5.73 X 4.99/u in the 

 controls and 5.75 X 3.84/i in the starved rabbits. In the dog, both diameters 

 of the nucleus were reduced. Colloid formation appeared to continue normally, 

 but the intercellular substance was reduced in amount. 



