1836 KING, Thomas Wilkinson (1809 – 1847)
Observations on the thyroid gland, with notes on the same subject by Sir Astley Cooper.
King, sometimes referred to as the “father of endocrinology”, antici-pated the endocrine action of the thyroid.
GMN 1126 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1250
1852 OWEN, Sir Richard (1804 – 1892)
On the anatomy of the Indian rhinoceros (Rh. unicornis L.).
Owen was the first to describe the parathyroids, which he observed in his dissection of a Great Indian Rhinoceros that had lived at the Zoological Society of London from 1834 to 1849. See B. Modarai, A. Sawyer, & H. E…
GMN 1126.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1254
1884 –1885 HORSLEY, Sir Victor Alexander Haden (1857 – 1916)
On the function of the Thyroid gland.
From his experimental work Horsley produced evidence to support the view that myxoedema, cretinism and operative cachexia strumpriva are all due to thyroid deficiency.
GMN 1128 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1265
1886 HORSLEY, Sir Victor Alexander Haden (1857 – 1916)
Functional nervous disorders due to loss of thyroid gland and pituitary body.
First successful experimental hypophysectomy; two dogs survived five and six months respectively after this operation.
GMN 1129 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1278
1891 GLEY, Eugène (1857 – 1930)
Sur les fonctions du corps thyroïde.
Gley re-discovered the parathyroids and later came across Sandström’s description (see No. 1127). Gley seems to have been the first to understand their real significance; his work showed the necessity of the parathyro…
GMN 1130 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1283
1895 –1896 BAUMANN, Eugen (1846 – 1896)
Ueber das normale vorkommen von Jod im Thierkörper.
Demonstration of the presence of iodine in organic combination in the thyroid. Baumann isolated an iodine-containing compound (“Thyrojodin”). The biochemical research stimulated by this work led eventually to the disc…
GMN 1131 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1294
1896 HUTCHISON, Sir Robert (1871 – 1960)
The chemistry of the thyroid gland and the nature of its active constituent.
Isolation of a globulin afterwards named thyroglobulin.
GMN 1131.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1299
1909 HUNT, Reid (1870 – 1948); SEIDELL, Atherton (1878 – 1961)
Studies on thyroid. I. The relation of iodine to the physiological activity of thyroid preparations.
GMN 1132 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1308
1915 KENDALL, Edward Calvin (1886 – 1972)
The isolation in crystalline form of the compound containing iodine, which occurs in the thyroid; its chemical nature and physiologic activity.
Kendall isolated in crystalline form the thyroid hormone “thyroxine” on Christmas Day, 1914.
GMN 1133 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1316
1923 HUNT, Reid (1870 – 1948)
The acetonitril test for thyroid and of some alterations of metabolism.
The acetonitril test was introduced by Hunt in 1905 (J. biol. Chem., 1, 33) and later modified by him. It shows the activity of thyroid preparations to be proportional to their iodine content.
GMN 1134 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1320
1923 HANSON, Adolph Melanchton (1888 – 1959)
An elementary chemical study of the parathyroid glands of cattle.
Hanson isolated the first really potent parathyroid extract.
GMN 1135 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1322
1925 COLLIP, James Bertram (1892 – 1965)
The extraction of a parathyroid hormone which will prevent or control parathyroid tetany and which regulates the level of blood calcium.
Isolation of parathormone, the active principle of the parathyroids. Collip’s “parathormone”. He showed that it raises the calcium level in para-thyroidectomized dogs.
GMN 1136 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1325
1926 HARINGTON, Sir Charles Robert (1897 – 1972)
Chemistry of thyroxine I.
Harington showed that thyroxine is a derivative of tyrosine, and he gave its formula as C15H11O4NI4.
GMN 1137 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1329
1927 HARINGTON, Sir Charles Robert (1897 – 1972); BARGER, George (1878 – 1939)
Chemistry of thyroxine. III. Constitution and synthesis of thyroxine.
Synthesis of thyroxine.
GMN 1138 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1338
1953 GROSS, Jack (1921 – 1994); PITT-RIVERS, Rosalind Venetia Lane Fox (1907 – 1990)
3:5:3'-Triiodothyronine. I. Isolation from thyroid gland and synthesis.
Discovery of the second thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine. Digital facsimile from PubMedCentral at this link.
GMN 1138.1 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1350
1962 COPP, Douglas Harold (1915 – 1998); ET AL
Evidence for calcitonin – a new hormone from the parathyroid that lowers blood calcium.
With E. C. Cameron, B. A. Cheney, A. G. F. Davidson, and K. G. Henze.
GMN 1138.2 · https://historyofmedicine.com/id/1351
