TREATMENT OF GOITER COMPLICATING PREGNANCY

The state of pregnancy demands increased secretion of the thyroid gland. If the gland is normal and the supply of iodine in the body is adequate, this increase of thyroid secretion will be sufficient. 1 C. H. Mayo and H. S. Plummer 2 stated: A supply of iodine inadequate for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, followed by a subnormal delivery of thyroxine to the tissues, produces hypothyroidism; consequent elevation of intensity of thyroid stimulation causes diffuse hypertrophy of the thyroid gland; the secretory processes are altered; the diffuse hypertrophy disappears; colloid is stored in excess of the normal, and diffuse colloid goiter is the result. In many cases the sustained stimulation of the thyroid gland, in conjunction with unknown factors, causes the development of new tissue, adenomatous goiter.... The enlargement of the thyroid gland in pregnancy, whether of adenomatous tissue or of the entire gland from the storage