NCLEX RN Practice Question # 776
NCLEX Examination.
Practice Question # 776.
nclex examination
Goiter is enlargement of the thyroid gland; usually caused by an iodine-deficient diet.
ENDEMIC (IODINE-DEFICIENT) GOITER
The most common type of goiter, encountered chiefly in geographic regions where the natural supply of iodine is deficient (eg, the Great Lakes areas of the United States), is the so-called simple or colloid goiter. In addition to being caused by an iodine deficiency, simple goiter may be caused by an intake of large quantities of goitrogenic substances in patients with unusually susceptible glands.
These substances include excessive amounts of iodine or lithium, which is used in treating bipolar disorders. Simple goiter represents a compensatory hypertrophy of the thyroid gland, caused by stimulation by the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland produces thyrotropin or TSH, a hormone that controls the release of thyroid hormone from the thyroid gland. Its production increases if there is subnormal thyroid activity, as when insufficient iodine is available for production of the thyroid hormone. Such goiters usually cause no symptoms, except for the swelling in the neck, which may result in tracheal compression when excessive.