Myxedema coma historical perspective

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aditya Ganti M.B.B.S. [2]

In 874, Gull was the first physician to describe hypothyroidism under the name myxedema due to its characteristics of swollen skin and its mucin content. In 1883, Semon was the first to establish a relationship between patients undergoing thyroidectomy and later developing symptoms of myxedema. In 1888, Clinical Society of London presented a paper describing that extreme loss of thyroid hormone can lead to cretinism and myxedema.

• In 874, Gull was the first physician to describe hypothyroidism under the name myxedema due to its characteristics of swollen skin and its mucin content.^[1][2]
• Mydematous coma was initially described by William Ord of the St. Thomas Hospital of London in 1879.
• In 1883, Semon was the first to establish a relationship between patients undergoing thyroidectomy and later developing symptoms of myxedema.
• In 1888, Clinical Society of London presented a paper describing that extreme loss of thyroid hormone can lead to cretinism and myxedema.
• In 1891, Murray was the first physician to discover a cure for myxedema by using hypodermic injections of sheep thyroid extract.
• In 1983, Vincent Summe, English physician of the Walton Hospital of Liverpool, was the first to coin the term myxedema coma.