The value of radioiodine (I131) in juvenile myxoedema due to ectopic thyroid tissue.

The value of radioactive iodine (I131) in the investigation of disorders of the thyroid gland is now well recognized (Pochin, 1950; Myant, 1952; Wayne, 1954). While 1131 has been used more frequently in adults than in children, its application to the study of abnormalities of thyroid function has added considerably to our understanding of the varied aetiology and pathogenesis of hypothyroidism in childhood (Hamilton, Soley, Reilly and Eichorn, 1943; Lerman, Jones and Calkins, 1946; Stanbury and Hedge, 1950; Stanbury, 1951; Hubble, 1953; McGirr and Hutchison, 1953; Silverman and Wilkins, 1953; Hutchison and McGirr, 1954). We present here the results of L131 tests in two children which demonstrate the value of these tests in the diagnosis of ectopic thyroid tissue associated with juvenile myxoedema. The techniques used in the L131 investigations have been described elsewhere (McGirr and Hutchison, 1953). Case Records