Morphometric studies on the development of the human thyroid gland. II. The late fetal life

• Bocian-Sobkowska, J. ^[1] ; Wozniak, W. ^[1] ; Malendowicz, L.K. ^[2]
  1. [1] Department of Anatomy, University School of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
  2. [2] Department of Histology and Embryology, University School of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland
• Localización: Histology and histopathology: cellular and molecular biology, ISSN-e 1699-5848, ISSN 0213-3911, Vol. 12, Nº. 1, 1997, págs. 79-84
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Histological and morphometric studies were performed on 27 thyroid glands obtained from normal fetuses ranging between 23 to 40 weeks of intra-uterine life.

    In the thyroids the volume of gland, colloid , and stroma were calculated by means of differential pointcounting method and the height of the thyroid follicular cells was measured. Moreover, the epithelium/colloid ratio in the thyroid gland, a very sensitive parameter of stimulation of the glands by TSH, was calculated.

    Regarding the values of this ratio in human fetal thyroid gland , the intra-uterine development of the gland may be divided into three distinct stages. The first one , between weeks 10-18 is characterized by massive folliculogenesis and gradual accumulation of the colloid. The second stage, between weeks 19-29 of fetal life is characterized by rather unchanged values of epithelium/colloid ratio and the size of follicles. The third stage, after the 29th week of development is characterized by a gradual increase in the epithelium/colloid ratio and a decrease in the size of follicles.