[Sonographic determination of thyroid volume in subjects with healthy thyroids]

Echography of the thyroid was performed on 542 persons with thyroid glands normal to palpation. Thyroid volume in men ranged between 9 and 38 ml, in females between 6 and 25 ml; median 16.7 ml and 13.5 ml, respectively. This sex difference is significant. There was only a weakly positive correlation between thyroid size, on one hand, and age or surface area, on the other. In future, thyroid echography should be used as reliable and yet simple method in any epidemiological study of the incidence of goitre.