Thyroid nodule historical perspective

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Mahshid Mir, M.D. [2]

Overview

In 1500, a renowned artist named Leonardo da Vinci was the first who recognized and drew the thyroid gland. In 1834, Robert Graves was the first who described a syndrome of palpitation, goiter, and exophthalmos. In 1857, Maurice Schiff was the first to perform successful total thyroidectomies in animals. In 1895, Adolf Magnus Levy was the first to describe the influence of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormones on the basal metabolic rate. In 1947, Cope, Rawson, and McArthur were the first who described the usage of radioactive iodine for demonstration of a "hot" thyroid nodule. In 1948, T. Templa, J. Aleksandrowicz, and M. Till were the first who described the usage of fine needle thyroid biopsy as a diagnostic method for thyroid nodules.

Historical perspective

The main events associated with thyroid recognition and development are summarized here: In 40 BC, Pliny, Vitruvius, and Juvenal were the first who documented the prevalence of goiter in the Alps. They also used the burnt seaweed for treatment of goiter. In 138, Soranus, a Greek physician, reported a case of neck swelling following pregnancy. In 961, Abul Kasim, a physician in Cordoba, was the first who described thyroidectomy and to perform a needle biopsy. In 1500, Leonardo da Vinci was the first who recognized and drew the thyroid gland. In 1543, Andreas Vesalius was the first who provided the first anatomic description and illustration of the thyroid gland. In 1563, Eustachius was the first who introduced the term "isthmus" to describe tissue connecting the two lobes of the thyroid gland. In 1602, Felix Platter was the first who described cretinism found in Valais region of Switzerland. In 1825, C. Parry was the first who described exophthalmic goiter. In 1834, Robert Graves was the first who described a syndrome of palpitation, goiter, and exophthalmos. In 1857, B. Niepce was the first who described enlargement of sella turcica in cretinism with hypothyroidism in Switzerland. In 1862, A. Trousseau introduced the term "Graves disease" for the disease that was described before by Grave. In 1867, A. von Graefe described lid lag in thyrotoxicosis which later was known as Basedow's disease. In 1873, Th. Billroth was the first to describe tetany following total thyroidectomy. In 1882, William Ord was the first to describe the term myxedema for a case of a middle-aged woman with cretinism features. In 1888, Rogowitsch was the first to describe the pituitary hyperplasia in rabbits following thyroidectomy. In 1891, Victor Horsley was the first to discover the direct effect of thyroid function deficiency in developing myxedema, cretinism, and post-thyroidectomy cachexia by working on monkeys. In 1895, Adolf Magnus Levy was the first to describe the influence of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormones on the basal metabolic rate. In 1896, B. Riedel was the first to describe chronic fibrous thyroiditis. In 1898, von Notthalt was the first to describe thyrotoxicosis factitia. In 1902, F. de Quervain was the first that described subacute granulomatous thyroiditis. In 1910, Charles H. Mayo was the first who used the term "hyperthyroidism" for explaining the clinical manifestations of primary exophthalmic goiter, toxic adenoma, and adenomatous goiter with hyperthyroidism. In 1931, L. Loeb and R. Bassett were the first who extracted and purified TSH from bovine pituitary. In 1936, Dr. Saul Hertz was the first who described the usage of radioactive iodine for the study of thyroid gland. In 1947, Cope, Rawson, and McArthur were the first who described the usage of radioactive iodine to demonstrate a "hot" thyroid nodule. In 1948, T. Templa, J. Aleksandrowicz, and M. Till were the first who described the usage of fine needle thyroid biopsy as a diagnostic method for thyroid nodules. In 1949, R. G. Hoskins was the first who described negative feedback of thyroid gland on pituitary, a mechanism that he called "servo (feedback) mechanism". In 1950, J. B. Stanbury was the first who described the genetic abnormality association with thyroid hormone synthesis. In 1959, J. B. Hazard, W. A. Hawk, and G. Crile were the first who described medullary thyroid cancer as a distinct entity. In 1965, S. Berson and R. Yalow were the first who described radioimmunoassay procedure. In 1966, R. F. Rohner, J. T. Prior and J. H. Sipple were the first who described multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 and reported some cases. In 1970, A. Schally and R. Guillemin were the first who discovered TRH separately from each other.

Leonardo da Vinci painting of a woman with goiter Courtesy to Wikipedia

Courtesy to wikimedia

Landmark events in the development of treatment strategies

The main events associated with development of treatment strategies include:

• In 2700 BC, seaweed was used for the treatment of goiter.
• In 340, Ko-Hung, a Chinese chemist recommended seaweed for treatment of goiter among people living in mountains.
• In 650, Sun Ssu-Mo, another Chinese physician, used dried, powdered mollusca shells and chopped thyroid gland for the treatment of goiter.
• In 1200, Arnaldus de Villanova reported that marine sponges could be used to treat goiters.
• In 1475, Wang Hei, a Chinese physician recommended treat of goiter with minced thyroid gland.
• In 1857, Maurice Schiff was the first to perform successful total thyroidectomies in animals.
• In 1891, G. R. Murray was the first who described the effect of thyroid hormone extract in treating myxedema.
• In 1905, Dr. Robert Abbe was the first who treated Graves disease by implanting radium into the patient's goiter.
• In 1914, E. C. Kendall was the first to isolate thyroxine.
• In 1917, M. Seymour in Boston was the first who described the use of X ray for treating Graves disease.
• In 1924, H. S. Plummer at the Mayo clinic was the first who described the pre-operative usage of iodine for Graves disease treatment.
• In 1928, Harington and Barger were the first who described the chemical structure of thyroxine and synthesize it.
• In 1946, A. Astwood was the first who used thiourea and thiouracil for medical treatment of Graves disease.
• In 1949, Jones, Kornfeld, McLaughlin, and Anderson were the first to synthesize methimazole.
• In 1831, iodine prophylaxis was proposed as a government-administered public health program, for goiter prevention.
• In 1998, United States scientists were the first that approved clinical usage of recombinant human TSH.