Morphometric Study on the Fetal Thyroid Gland in the Nude Mouse (BALB/cAnNCrj-nu/nu)

Fetal thyroid glands of athymic nude mice (BALB/cAnNCrj-nu/nu) were examined morphometrically on day 18 of gestation. Compared to euthymic litter mate controls (BALB/cAnNCrj-nu/+), both the cell height and diameter of thyroid follicles were significantly smaller; fewer well-developed follicles were found in the peripheral region of the thyroid; the body weight and total volume of the thyroid gland were also smaller in nude mice. These results suggest underdevelopment of the fetal thyroid gland of the athymic nude mouse.