title: History of disorders of thyroid dysfunction.
abstract: The first description of thyroid diseases as they are known today was that of Graves disease by Caleb Parry in 1786, but the pathogenesis of thyroid disease was not discovered until 1882-86. Thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism was first performed in 1880, and antithyroid drugs and radioiodine therapy were developed in the early 1940s. Thomas Curling first described hyopothyroidism (myxoedema) in 1850 and the cause and suitable treatment were established after 1883. This paper reviews the main landmarks in the history of thyroid disease, supplemented by a brief discussion of the historically relevant scientific aspects of the thyroid gland, and the evolution of endocrinology as a formal discipline.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Bahr Elghazal, Khartoum, Sudan. awad_sd@hotmail.com
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000266:history; D013956:Antithyroid Agents / Q000266:history; D004704:Endocrinology / Q000266:history*; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D006980:Hyperthyroidism / Q000266:history*; D007037:Hypothyroidism / Q000266:history*; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000266:history; D010827:Physiology / Q000266:history; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000266:history
chemical_list: D013956:Antithyroid Agents; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes