Histological study of thyroid gland among fetus in different age groups.

Abstract

Background: The importance of thyroid gland is to promote growth and development of the brain during fetal life and for the first few years of postnatal life. Iodine deficiency is the single most common cause of preventable mental retardation and brain damage in the world.Objective: To correlate the weight of fetal thyroid with body weight, crown-rump length, and estimated gestational age of fetus. To study microscopic structure of the human thyroid in gestational age groups of normal, still born fetuses. To correlate the size of thyroid follicles with increasing gestational age. To study the nature and amount of colloid content of the follicles at different stages of development.