Autopsy Findings in Clinically Normal Thyroids

Thyroid glands obtained from 120 consecutive autopsies performed on patients who died from different causes, other than thyroid diseases, were systematically examined by light microscopy. There were 84 males and 36 females; their ages ranged from 1 day to 100 years. Histopathological findings were noted mainly in patients older than 48 years of age. In all cases thyroid lesions were incidental findings and included nodular goiter (26%), thyroiditis (9%), follicular adenomas (7%), papillary microcarci nomas (6%), follicular carcinoma (0.8%), and hemangioma (0.8%). A number of other morphologic changes of importance to surgical pathologists were also evaluated such as the presence of solid cell nests, intrathyroidal ectopic tissues, fibrosis, fat cell infiltration, and vascular changes. Int J Surg Pathol 1 (I): 25-32, 1993