Surface features in human thyroid disorders. A scanning electron microscopic study of ninety five cases.

The surface features of nodular goitre, follicular adenomas, focal and Hashimoto type thyroiditis, Graves' disease, follicular carcinomas, papillary carcinomas, anaplastic carcinomas, medullary carcinomas and malignant lymphomas are presented in this scanning electron microscopic study of 95 cases. Scanning electron microscopy was found to be an excellent method for studying the surface topography of the diseased cells at high magnification and with a great depth of field. However, scanning electron microscopy does not seem to be a valuable tool for the diagnostic and prognostic routine evaluation of thyroid disorders.