Environmental factors and anatomic pathology of the thyroid gland: review of literature

Over the years, many environmental factors and exogenous compounds have been identified that interfere with the normal function of endocrine organs. These disorders manifest as endocrine hormone imbalance, infectious and autoimmune diseases, and both benign and malignant neoplasms. The thyroid gland is especially sensitive to environmental factors and surgical specimens from affected glands are commonly seen in everyday pathology practice. In this review, we focus on the pathophysiology of environmental factors that cause thyroid disease and detail the pathologic findings that may be encountered by the anatomic pathologist.