Mapping Thyroid Changes in Size and Position During Enlargement in Adult Mice With Hyperthyroidism

Area of Science:

• Endocrinology
• Pathological Anatomy
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Graves' disease causes significant anatomical changes in the thyroid gland.
• Detailed pathological anatomy of the thyroid in Graves' disease is often neglected, hindering diagnosis and treatment.
• Accurate anatomical knowledge is crucial for surgical and diagnostic procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the pathological anatomy of the thyroid in a mouse model of Graves' disease.
• To create detailed topographical maps of the thyroid gland at various enlargement phases.
• To enhance diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for Graves' disease.

Main Methods:

• Established a long-term immunization mouse model mimicking Graves' disease clinical signs.
• Registered thyroid sizes across various phases of enlargement.
• Utilized thyroid and tracheal cartilage landmarks to generate site-dependent incidence graphs.
• Merged incidence graphs to create phase-dependent thyroid topography.

Main Results:

• The mouse model exhibited significant heterogeneity in thyroid size, mirroring natural occurrences.
• Detailed topographical maps illustrating thyroid localization and dynamic changes during enlargement were produced.
• The study mapped thyroid changes in front view and sectional planes for each phase.

Conclusions:

• The generated thyroid topography maps provide crucial anatomical insights for Graves' disease.
• This knowledge can improve the accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy and ultrasonography-guided biopsy.
• Understanding these dynamic anatomical changes aids in avoiding misdiagnosis and supports imaging diagnosis and local surgery.