OXALATE IN THE HUMAN THYROID-GLAND

Ninety-seven fixed surgical thyroid specimens and 63 unfixed and 40 fi xed thyroid specimens from autopsies were examined for their oxalate c ontent. Proteases were used to process the tissue, and the oxalate was determined with an enzymatic assay. The fixed samples were grouped in to seven diagnostic categories (diffuse colloid goitre; partially diff use, partially nodular colloid goitre; nodular colloid goitre; goitre with multifocal functional autonomy; non-functioning adenoma; unifocal functional autonomy; Graves' disease). The oxalate concentrations of the samples were mainly dependent on age and gender, which were distri buted unequally among the seven diagnostic groups. In thyroid tissue f rom cases of Graves' disease, however, the concentration of oxalate wa s remarkably low and statistically different from those of four of the six other groups.