THE HEREDITARY AND FAMILIAL ASPECTS OF EXOPHTHALMIC GOITRE AND NODULAR GOITRE

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Abstract
Familial or hereditary occurrence of goitre was investigated in 90 cases of exophthalmic and 111 of nodular goitre. All cases were personally questioned and examined. Detailed family trees were obtained from 35 cases of exophthalmic and 50 of nodular goitre; details of any goitrous relatives were noted in the remainder. Goitrous relatives of patients with exophthalmic goitre were predominately affected by the same condition; relatives of patients with nodular goitre were almost exclusively affected by simple or nondescript goitre. Genetical evidence strongly suggests the inheritance of a recessive factor favoring the occurrence of exophthalmic goitre, but no such evidence exists for an inherited trait in nodular goitre. The inherited recessive factor in exophthalmic goitre may prove to be a personality type or a constitutional nervous instability. The data in this study were derived from 2 sources, either from data from all the cases or only from those whose family trees were known. From the former, crude information was obtained concerning the number and relationships of various relatives affected, and from the latter, more detailed information concerning siblings.

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