OBSERVATIONS ON THE CALCULATION OF THYROID WEIGHT, USING EMPIRICAL FORMULAE

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Abstract
THE importance of knowledge of the weight of the thyroid gland in the estimation of the amount of radioactive iodine to be given for therapy of hyperthyroidism has resulted in attempts to develop objective methods for weight evaluation. In this hospital the tr∧roid gland has been outlined according to previously reported methods (1, 2, 3), using a motor-driven directional scintillation counter. From the resultant outline, variously named gammagram or scintogram, the weight of the thyroid has been calculated. This method of calculation has been reported (1) to be accurate within 10 per cent. The weight calculation is made according to the empirical equation: K is a constant supposedly relating the height of a lobe to its' third dimensional projection, taking into account the density of thyroid tissue. It is assumed: a) the height is proportional to the size of the gland; b) the surface area (in the anterior projection) is proportional to the size of the gland; or c) their product is proportional to the size of the gland. These assumptions have been reported to have been verified and the K factor calculated from study of 10 patients whose thyroid glands were removed at operation or necropsy soon after the gammagrams or scintograms had been made.

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