Cytologic diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis.

In specimens obtained by fine needle thyroid puncture it is possible to define cytologic criteria of toxic goiter. This cytologic picture is compound but the authors describe marginal vacuolization and nuclear ring patterns in follicular wall fragments as fairly specific signs of thyroid hyperfunction. Thyroid puncture is hardly a measure of choice in the routine clinical evaluation of hyperthyrosis but some case histories demonstrate that due attention to the cytologic picture of toxic goiter is profitable also when the puncture was made with quite other indications.