[Frequency and significance of intravesicular thyroid crystals]

Using histological examination in polarised light, intravesicular crystals were found in 89 out of 100 thyroids, normal or pathological, removed at autopsy. Crystals were abundant in 44 cases. Pathological changes in the gland result in a irregular and sometimes characteristic distribution of the chrystalline deposits. Intravesicular crystals may reflect local functional variations in the thyroid.