Gross and histopathologies of thyroid gland in cadavers from the South of Thailand

Abstract

Background : Thyroid gland is highly vascular, a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland, located in the front part of the neck. It plays an important role in releasing hormones that control the metabolism. The thyroid glands in cadavers
were well preserved by embalming materials and could be sectioned for histopathological diagnosis.

Objective : To investigate abnormalities of thyroid glands of cadavers from the South of Thailand.

Methods : Gross and histological assessment of thyroid glands were studied in 102 (42 females and 60 males) cadavers of the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University. Statistical analysis was done using  SPSS 16.0 statistical software.

Results : Histologically, the thyroid gland specimens from cadaver revealed satisfactory microscopic features of cells and connective tissues under paraffin section with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Five types of histopathology were diagnosed: nodular goiter, multinodular goiter, Hashimoto thyroiditis, mixed nodular goiter/Hashimoto thyroiditis and Grave’s disease, with prevalence at 20.6%, 17.7%, 4.9%, 2.0% and 2.9%, respectively. Specimens from the females showed significantly higher prevalence of multinodular goiter than those form the males.

Conclusion : The prevalence of the five thyroid conditions diagnosed form cadavers’ specimens were much higher than those reported in clinical studies, suggesting a high possibility of subclinical cases of thyroid dysfunctions
in normal population.