Surface features in human thyroid disorders. A scanning electron microscopic study of ninety five cases

Area of Science:

• Pathology
• Oncology
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Thyroid disorders encompass a range of conditions, including goiters, adenomas, thyroiditis, and various carcinomas.
• Understanding the surface topography of diseased thyroid cells can offer insights into their nature.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in characterizing the surface morphology of diverse thyroid lesions.
• To evaluate SEM's potential role in the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of thyroid disorders.

Main Methods:

• A scanning electron microscopic study was conducted on 95 cases involving various thyroid pathologies.
• Detailed examination of the surface features of nodular goiter, follicular adenomas, thyroiditis (Hashimoto and focal), Graves' disease, and thyroid carcinomas (follicular, papillary, anaplastic, medullary) and lymphomas.

Main Results:

• SEM provides excellent high-magnification visualization of the surface topography of diseased thyroid cells.
• Distinct surface features were observed across the spectrum of studied thyroid conditions.

Conclusions:

• Scanning electron microscopy is a powerful tool for high-resolution imaging of thyroid cell surface morphology.
• SEM is not considered a valuable method for the routine diagnostic or prognostic evaluation of thyroid disorders.