CRETINISM
Cretinism refers to hypothyroidism that develop in infancy or early childhood. The term cretin was derived from the French chretien ,meaning Christian or Christlike, and was applied to these unfortunates because they were considered to be so mentally retarded as to be incapable of sinning. In the Past ,this disorder occurred fairly commonly in areas where dietary iodine deficiency is endemic , such as the Himalayas, inland China , Africa and other mountainous areas. It has become much less frequent in recent years, owing to the widespread supplementation of food and iodine. On rare occasions, cretinism may also result from inborn errors in metabolism ( e.g. enzyme deficiencies) that interfere with the biosynthesis of normal levels of thyroid hormone ( sporadic cretinism). Clinical feature of Cretinism include impaired development of the skeletal system and central nervous system, manifested by severe mental retardation ,short stature , coarse facial features, a protrud...