Myxœdema

Myxœdema is the name generally accepted for a diseased condition first described by Sir William Gull in 1873. It occurs in adults, generally females, and is characterised by a thickening of the subcutaneous tissue, most noticeable in the face (which becomes enlarged, swollen-looking, and expressionless) and the hands, with a simultaneous dulling of all the faculties and slowing of the movements of the body. A precisely similar condition occurs in many cases where the thyroid gland has been removed for disease. Myxœdema is very slow in its progress. It greatly resembles cretinism, though the mental condition is much less affected. In 1890-91 Horsley and others treated cases successfully by grafting in the thyroid gland of a calf, or by injecting the juice of animal thyroids. Since then remarkable success has been attained by giving the patients calves' thyroids to eat, or administering the extract by the mouth. The improvement, which is swift and marvellous, lasts only so long as the sufferers continue to take the remedy. See monograph by A. M. Wilson (1893).