Pliny, Vitruvius, and Juvenal describe prevalence of goiter in the Alps and use of burnt seaweed for treatment.
Greek physician, Soranus, mentions neck swelling following pregnancy
Ayur Veda, Hindu holy text, discusses goiter
Ko-Hung, Chinese alchemist, recommends seaweed for treatment of goiter among people living in mountains
Sun Ssu-Mo, a Chinese physician, uses dried, powdered mollusc shells and chopped thyroid gland for the treatment of goiter
Abul Kasim, Physician to Caliph El-Hakin III of Codoba, is first to describe thyroidectomy for goiter and to perform a needle biopsy of the thyroid.
Roger of Salerno uses seaweed in the treatment of goiter
Arnaldus de Villanova reports that marine sponges could be used to treat goiters of recent origin in the young
Chinese physician, Wang Hei, recommends treatment of goiter with minced thyroid.
Leonardo da Vinci is first person to recognize and draw the thyroid gland
Andreas Vesalius provides first anatomic description and illustration of the thyroid gland
Eustachius introduces the term "isthmus" to describe tissue connecting the two lobes of the thyroid
Felix Platter gives first description of cretins (see 1754) found in Valais region of Switzerland.
Thomas Wharton names gland "thyroid" after the shape of an ancient Grecian shield
Albrecht van Haller describes constipation as a complication of cretinism
The term "cretin" is derived from the Latin "christianus" as affected individuals are incapable of committing a sin
F.E. Fodere suggests an association between goiter and cretinism
Giuseppe Flajani, personal physician to Pope Pius VII (1800-1823), described association of palpitations, goiter, and bulging of the eyes.
Bernard Courtois discovers iodine by oxidizing burnt seaweed (i.e. kelp) with sulfuric acid
Gay-Lussac names the vapor discovered by Courtois iodine, from the Greek word for violet
Goiter reported in British Columbia
Jean Francois Coindet concludes that iodine deficiency causes goiter and begins treatment of goiter with iodine.
Alexander von Humboldt reports endemic goiter in Andes, and notes that goiter size decreases when an individual moves to a non-endemic area.
C.H. Parry actually saw his first case of exophthalmic goiter in 1786 but his account was not published until 1825.
Boussingault detects iodine in the natural salt from mines in the Andes. he then recommends iodinated salt to prevent and treat endemic goiter
JGA Lugol recommends use of aqueous solution of iodine made from KI for treatment of scrofula (a mass in the neck)
Brazilian physician Francisco Freire-Allemao proposes iodine prophylaxis as a government-administered health program for goiter prevention.
Robert Graves describes a syndrome of palpitations, goiter, and exophthalmos in three women.
C. von Basedow describes exophthalmic goiter
J.L. Prevost adds iodine to food and water to prevent goiter
T.B. Curling describes cretinism with athyreosis
A. Chatin detects iodine in freshwater plants and recommends these as prophylaxis for endemic goiter
B. Niepce describes enlargment of sella turcica in cretins with hypothyroidism in Switzerland
Maurice Schiff successfully performs total thyroidectomies in animals
R. Virchow suggests that cretinism and goiter are related
A. Trousseau introduces the term "Graves disease"
Baillarger reports occurrence of goiter in animals where goiter and cretinism are widespread
A. von Graefe describes lid lag in thyrotoxicosis (Basedow's disease)
Th. Billroth describes tetany following total thyroidectomy
William Gull publishes "On a Cretinoid State Supervening in Adult Life in Women"
William Ord coins term myxedema to describe middle aged women with cretinoid features
J.L. Reverdin describes cretinism following thryoidectomy.
Heinrich Bircher recognizes association of endemic goiter with geologic features characteristic of Quarternary glaciation
E.T. Kocher calls attention to myxedema following thyroidectomy. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1909 for his work on the thyroid gland.
First report of the use of thyroidectomy for the treatment of Graves' disease.
Pierre Marie describes the characteristic tremor of hyperthyroidism
Rogowitsch observes pituitary hyperplasia in rabbits following thyroidectomy
F.D. von Recklinghausen reports on the occurrence of osteoporosis in hyperthyroidism
Victor Horsley, using monkeys, shows that myxedema, cretinism, and post-thyroidectomy cachexia are all due to a deficiency of thyroid function.
G.R. Murray introduces the use of thyroid extract to treat myxedema
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