GOITER- is the enlargement of the thyroid gland and is not cancerous. Historically, goiter was commonly caused by a lack of iodine in a person's diet.

Thyroid Goiter Treatments

Enlargement of the Thyroid

Written by James Norman MD, FACS, FACE

The term non-toxic goiter refers to enlargement of the thyroid that is not associated with overproduction of thyroid hormone or malignancy. The thyroid can become very large so that it can easily be seen as a mass in the neck thyroid gland to become enlarged. A diet deficient in iodine can cause a goiter, but this is rarely the cause because of the readily available iodine in our diets. A more common cause of goiter in America is an increase in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in response to a defect in normal hormone synthesis within the thyroid gland. The thyroid stimulating hormone comes from the pituitary and causes the thyroid to enlarge. This enlargement usually takes many years to become manifest.