[Medullary carcinoma of the thyroid (author's transl)]

The medullary carcinoma of the thyroid plays a special role among the thyroid carcinomas due to his histiogenesis and endocrinologic behaviour. The symptoms like familiar occurrence, simultaneous pheochromocytoma, calcitonin-production, para-neoplastic syndroms with ACTH-production and the commonly associated diarrhea are discussed. The biological behavior of the tumor is presented reviewing the literature.