ABSTRACT

It has been recently suggested to revise the classication of thyroid diseases1 after the only ofcial classication reported in 1969 by the American Thyroid Association (ATA).2 The ATA classication was based on two points: the presence of goiter and thyroid function.2 Neither etiology, pathology, evaluation of the clinical evolution, nor the transitory, persistent, or permanent dysfunction of the thyroid gland was mentioned. Goiter, without specifying the dimension of the enlargement, was a basic point of the classication; the function was simply evaluated as nontoxic or toxic. The nontoxic forms included the normal function of the gland and its hypofunction.2,3 At the end of its report, the ATA voted that the classication “… be reviewed periodically and revised as further knowledge might require.”2