Myxoedema

Myxoedema, a, disease, the characteristic symptom of which is the development of a peculiar oedematous thickening of the subcutaneous tissue, which is said to be the deposit in the connective tissue lying beneath the skin of a, mucous substance. The oedema is most marked, as a rule, in the face and hands, the lips are thick, the eyelids swollen, and the expression of the features materially altered, the skin is dry and has a waxy appearance. The fingers become thickened, and the hands assume what is known as the "spade-like" appearance. Certain symptoms are, as a rule, associated with the development of the subcutaneous thickening, the chief of which are slowness of speech, feeble gait, and deafness. The malady is said to be due to a loss of the normal activity of the thyroid gland, and in many cases it is certain that this gland undergoes atrophy.