Thyroid goitres

A goitre is any enlargement of part or whole of the thyroid gland. There are two types:
1. Toxic goitre, i.e. goitre associated with thyrotoxicosis.
2. Non-toxic goitre, i.e. goitre associated with  normal or reduced levels of thyroid hormones.

Toxic goitre
Graves disease
This is the most common cause of toxic goitre 

Toxic multinodular goitre
This results from the development of hyperthyroidism in a multinodular goitre 

Non-toxic goitres
Diffuse non-toxic goitre (simple goitre)

This diffuse enlargement of the thyroid gland is classified into:

Endemic goitre—due to iodine deficiency. Endemic goiter occurs in geographic areas (typically mountainous)) where the soil, water, and food supply contain little iodine. The term endemic is used when goiters are present in more than 10% of the population in a given region. With increasing availability of dietary iodine supplementation, the frequency and severity of endemic goiter have declined significantly. Sporadic goiter is less common than endemic goiter. The condition is more common in females than in males, with a peak incidence in puberty or young adult life, when there is an
increased physiologic demand for T4.

Sporadic goitre—caused by goitrogenic agents (substances that induce goitre formation) or familial in origin. Examples of goitrogenic agents include certain cabbage species, because of their thiourea content, and specific drugs or chemicals, such as iodide, paraminosalicylic acid and drugs used in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis. Familial cases show inherited autosomal recessive traits, which interfere with hormone synthesis via various enzyme pathways (these are dyshormonogenic goitres). 
Hereditary enzymatic defects interfering with thyroid hormone synthesis (dyshormonogenetic goiter).

Physiological goitre—enlargement of the thyroid gland in females during puberty or pregnancy; the reason is unclear.

Multinodular goitre

This is the most common cause of thyroid enlargement and is seen particularly in the elderly (nearly all simple goitres eventually become multinodular). The exact aetiology is uncertain but it may represent an uneven responsiveness of various parts of the thyroid to fluctuating TSH levels over a period of many years.

Morphological features are:

• Irregular hyperplastic enlargement of the entire thyroid gland due to the development of wellcircumscribed nodules of varying size.
• Larger nodules filled with brown, gelatinous colloid; consequently, it is often termed multinodular colloid goitres.

Clinical features 

- A large neck mass, goiters may also cause airway obstruction, dysphagia, and compression of large vessels in the neck and upper thorax.
 - A hyperfunctioning ("toxic") nodule may develop within a long-standing goiter, resulting in hyperthyroidism. This condition is not accompanied by the infiltrative ophthalmopathy and dermopathy. 
 - Less commonly, there may be hypothyroidism.

Fanconi’s syndrome

Characterized by the failure of the proximal renal tubules to resorb amino acids, glucose, and phosphates.
May be inherited or acquired.

Clinical manifestations include 

glycosuria, hyperphosphaturia, hypophosphatemia, aminoaciduria, and systemic acidosis.

EXOCRINE PANCREAS

Congenital anomalies
1. Ectopic pancreatic tissue most commonly occurs in the stomach, duodenum, jejunum, Meckel's diverticulum, and ileum. It may be either asymptomatic or cause obstruction, bleeding, intussusception. 

2.Annular pancreas is a ring of pancreatic tissue that encircle the duodenum and may cause duodenal obstruction. 

Cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis is a systemic disorder of exocrine gland secretion presenting during infancy or childhood. 
Incidence is 1:2500 in Caucasians; it is less common in Black and extremely rare in Asians. 

Pathogenesis. Cystic fibrosis shows autosomal recessive transmission; heterozygotes are unaffected. It results in a defective chloride channel, which leads to secretion of very thick mucus. 

Characteristics

- Tissues other than exocrine glands are normal, and glands are structurally normal until damaged by cystic fibrosis.
- The only characteristic biochemical abnormalities are an  elevation of sodium and chloride levels in sweat, and a decrease in water and bicarbonate secretion from pancreatic cells, resulting in a viscous secretion. 

Clinical features

- Fifteen percent of cases present with meconium ileus.
- Most cases present during the first year with steatorrhea (with resultant deficiencies of vitamins A, D, E, and K), abdominal distention, and failure to thrive.

Complications are also related to pulmonary infections'and obstructive pulmonary disease as a result of viscous bronchial secretions. 

Pathology
- There is mucus plugging of the pancreatic ducts with cystic dilatation, fibrous proliferation, and atrophy. Similar pathology develops in salivary glands. 

- Lungs. Mucus impaction leads to bronchiolar dilatation an secondary infection. 
- The gastrointestinal tract shows obstruction caused mucus impaction in the intestines with areas of biliary cirrhosis, resulting from intrahepatic bile duct obstruction

Diagnosis depends on demonstrating a "sweat test" abnomality associated with at least one clinical feature In sweat test, high levels of chloride are demonstrated.

Prognosis. Mean survival is age 20; mortality is most often due to pulmonary infections. 

Degenerative changes

1. Iron pigmentation (e.g., from hemochromatosis) may be deposited within acinar and islet cells and may cause insulin deficiency. 

2. Atrophy 
a. Ischemic atrophy is due to atherosclerosis of pancreatic arteries and is usually asymptomatic. 
b. Obstruction of pancreatic ducts affects only the exocrine pancreas, which becomes small, fibrous, and nodular.

Acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis 

presents as a diffuse necrosis of the pancreas caused by the release of activated pancreatic
enzymes. Associated findings include fat necrosis and hemorrhage into the pancreas. 

Incidence. This disorder is most often associated with alcoholism and biliary tract disease.
It affects middle-aged individuals and often occurs after a large meal or excessive alcohol ingestion; approximately 50% of patients have gallstones. 

Pathogenesis. There are four theories.
- Obstruction of the pancreatic duct causes an elevated intraductal pressure, which results in leakage of enzymes from small ducts. 
- obstruction may be caused by a gallstone at the ampulla of Vater; chronic alcohol ingestion may cause duct obstruction by edema. 
- Hypercalcemia may cause activation of trypsinogen; its mechanism is unclear. Pancreatitis occurs in 20% of patients with hyperparathyroidism. 
- Direct damage to acinar cells may occur by trauma, ischemia, viruses, and drugs. 
- Hyperlipidemia may occur as a result of exogenous estrogen intake and alcohol ingestion. 

Clinical features are typically the sudden onset of acute, continuous, and intense abdominal pain, often radiating to the back and accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and fever. This syndrome frequently results in shock. 

Laboratory values reveal elevated amylase (lipase elevated after 3-4 days) and leukocytosis. Hypocalcemia is a poor prognostic sign. 

Chronic pancreatitis 

It refers to remitting and relapsing episodes of mild pancreatitis, causing progressive pancreatic damage. 

Incidence is similar to acute pancreatitis. It is also seen in patients with ductal anomalies. Almost half the cases occur without known risk factors. 

Pathogenesis is unclear; possibly, there is excess protein secretion by the pancreas, causing ductal obstruction. 

Clinical features include flareups precipitated by alcohol and overeating, and drugs. Attacks are characterized by upper abdominal pain, tenderness, fever, and jaundice. 

Laboratory values reveal elevated amylase and alkaline phosphatase, X-rays reveal calcifications in the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis may result in pseudocyst formation, diabetes, and steatorrhea. 

Carcinoma of the pancreas 

Incidence: 
Carcinoma of the pancreas accounts for approximately 5% of all cancer deaths. Increased risk is associated with smoking. high-fat diet, and chemical exposure. There is a higher incidence in the elderly, Blacks, males, and diabetics. 

Clinical features
- The disease is usually asymptomatic until late in its course. 
- Manifestations include weight loss, abdominal pain frequently radiating to the back, weakness, malaise, anorexia, depression, and ascites.
- There is jaundice in half of the patients who have carcinoma of the head of the pancreas.
- Courvoisier's law holds that painless jaundice with a palpable gallbladder is suggestive of pancreatic cancer. 

Pathology
Carcinomas arise in ductal epithelium. Most are adenocarcinomas. 
- Carcinoma of the head of the pancreas accounts for 60% of all pancreatic cancers. 
- Carcinoma of the body (20%) and tail (5%) produce large indurated masses that spread widely to the liver and lymph nodes. 
- In 15% of patients, carcinoma involves the pancreas diffusely. 

Complications 
include Trousseau's syndrome, a migratory thrombophlebitis that occurs in 10% of patients. 

Prognosis is very poor. if resectable, the 5-year survival rate less than 5%. The usual course is rapid decline; on average death occurs 6 months after the onset of symptoms.

Pathology gives explanations of a disease by studying the following four aspects of the disease.

1. Etiology,

2. Pathogenesis,

3. Morphologic changes and

4. Functional derangements and clinical significance.

1. Etiology Etiology of a disease means the cause of the disease. If the cause of a disease is known it is called primary etiology. If the cause of the disease is unknown it is called idiopathic. Knowledge or discovery of the primary cause remains the backbone on which a diagnosis can be made, a disease understood, & a treatment developed. There are two major classes of etiologic factors: genetic and acquired (infectious, nutritional, chemical, physical, etc).

2. Pathogenesis Pathogenesis means the mechanism through which the cause operates to produce the pathological and clinical manifestations. The pathogenetic mechanisms could take place in the latent or incubation period. Pathogenesis leads to morphologic changes.

3. Morphologic changes The morphologic changes refer to the structural alterations in cells or tissues that occur following the pathogenetic mechanisms. The structural changes in the organ can be seen with the naked eye or they may only be seen under the microscope. Those changes that can be seen with the naked eye are called gross morphologic changes & those that are seen under the microscope are called microscopic changes. the morphologic changes will lead to functional alteration & to the clinical signs & symptoms of the disease.

4. Functional derangements and clinical significance The morphologic changes in the organ influence the normal function of the organ. By doing so, they determine the clinical features (symptoms and signs), course, and prognosis of the disease.

Parkinson’s disease
a. Characterized by the degeneration of neurons in the basal ganglia, specifically the substantia nigra and striatum.
b. Histologic findings in affected neurons include Lewy bodies.
c. Clinically, the disease affects involuntary and voluntary movements. Tremors are common. Symptoms include pin-rolling tremors, slowness of movements, muscular rigidity, and shuffling gait.

HYPERTROPHY
Increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to increase in the size of its Constituent cells.

1. Skeletal muscle due to -exercise.

2. Cardiac muscle of:
- Left ventricle in:
    o    Hypertension.
    o    Aortic valvular lesion.
    o    Severe anaemia.
- Right ventricle in :
    o    Mitral stenosis
    o    Cor pulmonale
    
3. Smooth muscle of:

- GIT proximal to strictures.
- Uterus in pregnancy.