title: The early days of thyroidectomy.
abstract: Although the normal thyroid gland is invisible and impalpable, its enlargement gives such an obvious swelling in the front of the neck that this pathology has been observed from ancient times. Old names for the swollen gland included 'bronchocele', which means a cystic mass in the neck, 'struma', (Latin for a swollen gland) and 'goitre', which comes from the Latin word 'gutta', the throat, and which is a term which is still used today. The term 'thyroid' was introduced by the 17th century anatomist Thomas Wharton, of London, and is derived from the Greek word thyreos, a shield, based on its shield-like appearance wrapped over the front of the trachea. He believed that its function was to give women a beautifully rounded neck!
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of London, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D013557:Switzerland; D013965:Thyroidectomy / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States