Diseases of the Thyroid Gland

HyperthyroidismA revolution in the treatment of hyperthyroidism has taken place during the past ten years. In the eighteen years prior to 1941 the treatment of hyperthyroidism had become the province of the surgeon. Today hyperthyroidism can be treated successfully by any one of three therapies, two medical and one surgical. The initiation in 1941 of radioactive-iodine therapy has raised the radiation treatment of this disease from a sporadically successful to a predictable therapy. The introduction of the thiouracil compounds in 1943 has provided a second medical therapy; many consider it as efficacious as radioactive-iodine treatment. Its use in preoperative . . .