FACTORS RELATED TO PARATHYROID WEIGHT IN NORMAL PERSONS

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 107  (4) , 167-172
Abstract
In a study of the parathyroid glands from 100 subjects who consecutively underwent autopsy, the median individual gland weight was 25.7 mg (95% weighed between 8.2 and 75.0 mg) and median individual gland parenchymal weight was 17.2 mg (95% weighed between 5.3 and 49.3 mg). Values were significantly skewed toward higher weight. Glandular weight were lower in patients with chronic illnesses, lower in women than in men, and lower in whites than in blacks. An inverse correlation was found between parenchymal weight and serum Ca concentration. Apparently, both total and parenchymal weight have a wider range of normal than is generally appreciated, and that a variety of factors probably affect parathyroid gland weight. A reevaluation of the weight of the parathyroid gland in normal persons is needed.