Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences. 2015; 120: 72–77 The Uppsala anatomist Ivar Sandström and the parathyroid gland

The last anatomical discovery The discovery of the parathyroid gland by the Uppsala anatomist Ivar Sandström (Figure 1) is often called the last anatomical discovery. That remarkable discovery was made in 1877 at the Anatomical Department in Uppsala. At that time Sandström was a young medical student, who had worked as an assistant at the department since 1873. His discovery was published inUpsala Läkareförenings Förhandlingar, in 1880 (1). His publication was in Swedish, and the paper was entitled ‘On a NewGland inMan and Several Animals’. The article comprised 30 pages, and in the introduction Sandström writes: Almost three years ago I found on the thyroid gland of a dog a small organ, hardly as big as a hemp seed,whichwas enclosed in the same connective tissue as the thyroid, but could be distinguished therefrom by the light colour. Microscopically the examination revealed glandular tissue completely different from that of the thyroid (1). Afterwards he continued his dissections and found similar glands in cats and rabbits. Stimulated by these findings he started examinations in human autopsy subjects, and in his article he writes: The existence of a hitherto unknown gland in what has so often been a subject of anatomical examination called for a thorough approach to the region around the thyroid gland even in man. Although the probability of finding something hitherto unrecognised seemed so small that it was exclusively with the purpose of completing th