Thyroid gland and iodine
The thyroid gland needs iodine for the hormones production. We usually consume iodine with the food. But there is often lack of iodine in our food. In this case endemic goiter can occur: compensatory enlargement of the thyroid gland. Daily need in iodine is 150 micrograms. Compensatory enlagement of the thyroid gland develops when daily iodine intake is less than 100 micrograms for a long time. If the compensatory enlargement does not help to extract more iodine from the food than hypothyroidism occurs. In reply to decreased thyroid gland hormones in the blood TTH secretion gets increased leading to further enlargement of the thyroid gland and nodes formation.
