[Histometric studies of thyroid glands of swine with treated and untreated strumata with special reference to the importance of morphological findings for the assessment of thyroid function].

Thyreocyte measurements were applied to 20 thyroids each of three groups of pigs for slaughter kept in the region of the Baltic coast. The first group consisted of clinically intact animals, the second of animals with untreated goiters, and the third of animals with goiters and potassium-iodine treatment. Hundred cells were measured in each of the animals, the magnification factor being 2,000. Mean values were calculated for each animal and group. The mean epithelial levels were 7.34 +/- 0.71 micrometer in Group 1, 13.77 +/- 1.97 micrometer in Group 2, and 4.25 +/- 0.52 micrometer in Group 3. The follicles recorded from the third group were one-a-half to three times as large as those recorded from the first. The mean thyroid weights were 11.8 +/- 5.0 g in the first group, 46.3 +/- 28.9 g in the second, and 23.5 +/- 7.9 g in the third. The relevance of such morphological findings to assessment of thyroid function is discussed. It is proposed to include such tests in any assessment of a problem situation in the context of thyroid function and in any evaluation of therapeutic success.