Étude du site de Longgupo – Synthèse

If the hominids are of African origin, as data support, we can hypothesize that the date of the first population diffusion must be moved back to 2.5–2.6 mya, and that the first populations in central China were oriented toward new technological options, which are only found in Africa much later. In the present state of research, it appears that we should abandon our old paradigms, which have over time become “truths”, because instead of a unifying view–monolithic–of these periods, we advocate recognition of the existence of spatial and temporal cultural otherness.     

Introduction à l’étude du site de Longgupo

The site of Longgupo, discovered in 1984, is located south of the crossing of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze, in the eastern part of Chongqing Province. Situated on the limestone slope of the Miaoyu Valley, three excavation campaigns have been carried out since 1985. The first two seasons took place from 1985–1988 and 1997–1998, directed by W.B. Huang and the last campaign from 2003–2006 by E. Boëda and Y.M. Hou. After the first two campaigns, the presence of several bones, with an estimated age of 1.9 My, notably including a mandible fragment attributed to a hominid² and the discovery of more than 20 lithic artifacts incited not only great interest in the scientific community, but controversy as well since these data contradicted diffusion models of the first hominids out of Africa. Paleoanthropological data often being privileged over other data, including lithic artifacts, the anthropic nature of the site was contested. Yet the few artifacts from the initial excavations irrefutably demonstrate their manufacture by humans, in particular those in exogenous stone. To definitively re-establish the authenticity of this site by applying the latest investigative methods, a new Franco-Chinese campaign was organized. The objective of the 2003–2006 field seasons focused on understanding and analysis of the archaeological data in their geomorphological and stratigraphic contexts.     

Analyse des artefacts lithiques du site de Longgupo

Excavation has enabled recovery of 854 artifacts within 30 archaeological levels in the south sector and 11 in the north (chapter 3). These levels are quite probably contemporaneous, or even the same. The quantitative disparity in the number of strata between the two sectors is simply due to the fact that only the lower half of the northern zone was completely investigated. Similarly, the number of artifacts recovered by level varies according to the surface area excavated, although is some cases the density of material is significant despite the small area excavated, for example stratum C IV 5 which contains 174 lithic artifacts in 2 m². Before undertaking the technological analysis of the artifacts, given the preceding polemics provoked by the great age of this site and its implications for the spread of the first populations out of Africa, it was deemed important to carry out a plurifactorial analysis combining all of the data related to: the stratigraphy, taphonomic processes (post-depositional disturbance), analysis of natural processes that may have produced eoliths, experimentation and techno-functional analysis of the material. The stratigraphy shows clear interstratifications of fine and coarse fluviatile levels with often very clear particle size sorting of the coarse fraction. The archaeological material is typically found at the interface of these strata, either at the base of a clayey matrix, overlying a preceding coarse level, or in the superficial part of a sandy-clay deposit underlying coarse deposits. Post-depositional disturbance revealed during the new excavations in 2003–2006 cannot alone be the cause of eoliths. Excavation of a 6 m² zone in the modern river bed, located below the site, has demonstrated that the technological traits of eoliths recovered cannot in any way be confused with the technological traits of the artifacts recovered at the site itself. Similarly, viewed quantitatively, the 6 m² zone excavated in the river bed yielded around 20 eoliths while the 30 m² zone excavated at the site yielded 854 artifacts, one stratum alone yielding 184 artifacts in a 3 m² zone. During the experimental phase, adopting the same conditions of procuring raw material, from the same river bed, we very quickly realized the rarity of types of adequate volume that had been generally used at the site and the need to use certain operational processes to create such a form. In addition, the hardness and presence of several natural fracture planes in the Triassic limestone explain the choice of different operational processes and the very high number of knapping accidents, including those occurring during bipolar percussion. Although 90% of the raw material used was cobbles or broken blocks of local Triassic limestone, 10% of the tools were made on exogenous raw materials – siliceous or gravelly limestone, quartzitic sandstone, chert, volcanic rock – that are absent from the immediate environment of the site. These raw materials were brought to the site in the form of tools: worked cobbles, large retouched flakes, backed double-truncated flakes, a plaquette with a lateral bifacial edge, etc. The 854 artifacts have been classified into six object classes: worked cobbles with transversal edge (39%), worked cobbles with lateral edge (2%), unipolar flakes (27%), bipolar objects (half-blocks, half-cobbles including some flat “split” cobbles, “orange slices”, flakes and diverse fragments) (17%) and fragments resulting from knapping of blocks or cobbles (13%), hammerstone (2%). When the frequencies of these classes are calculated for each of the sectors, percentages are similar, indicating a high degree of homogeneity in the archaeological assemblages at the site. The situation is somewhat different when assemblages are compared within a single sector. Slight differences appear in the percentages of bipolar pieces and unipolar flakes. These differences seem to be random, like the frequency rate of knapping accidents in bipolar reduction, or economic, such as the choice of operational schemes to create worked cobbles based on the availability of suitable raw materials. The technological affinity between each of the archaeological assemblages tends to demonstrate great stability in technological knowledge through time. The class of worked cobbles is by far the most important and, apart from a few flakes produced intentionally, it appears to group all of the tools. To avoid placing these tools in a restrictive, semantically meaningless, class, we prefer the concept of matrix to the term worked cobble. A matrix is a structured arrangement of a series of technological traits, in a form as close as possible to that of the future tool. The matrix phase leads to the tool production phase, which may be unnecessary if the matrix phase includes fictionalization. In other words, the concept of matrix enables separating the phase of preparing a predetermined volume, such as a blade, Levallois flake or bifacial piece, from the tool production phase, consisting in creating the type of transformative edge intended, if necessary. The tool is thus an artifact of a specific form with an integrated edge and an operational scheme both specific to the function attributed to it and means of use associated with the form. Observed variability relates to: the size of the volume ranging from to 20, morphology, the form of the line formed by the edge which can in frontal view be curved, linear, sinuous or denticulated, and in transversal view curved, linear, sinuous or saw-toothed, and the length of the edge ranging from 1 to 10. Matrices with a simple bevel are distinguished from double bevels. In the framework of the technological analysis of production schemes to produce matrices with a simple bevel, a broad range of variability in production schemes can be observed, divided arbitrarily into two stages. The first stage consists in creating as closely as possibly the technological traits of the future matrix due to five general schemes. The first scheme (A) consists in selecting a cobble or block naturally possessing at least some of the technological traits needed. The missing traits are added by various preparations, including bipolar percussion 3 times out of 5. The second scheme (B) consists in knapping a flake from the block with some of the technological traits required for the matrix present on one of its surfaces. The third scheme (C) consists in the choice of a plaquette from which a bipolar shock creates the main traits of the matrix. The fourth scheme (D) consists in choosing a volume very similar to the intended matrix. The fifth and final scheme (E) consists in knapping a flake with technological traits very different from those intended. Depending on the distance between intention and realization, a second stage may be necessary. In general, this second stage perfects or creates the intended active edge, which is rarely obtained in the first stage. To produce a matrix with a double bevel, it is sometimes necessary to add an intermediate stage in order to prepare the second bevel. The first stage remains the same, with the use of the five operational schemes. By contrast, a clear difference exists in the percentages for the use of these schemes. For a matrix with a simple bevel, scheme A is dominant, followed by scheme D, while the situation is reversed for a matrix with a double bevel, where scheme D is dominant. Unipolar flakes, representing 27% of the assemblage, are produced in three different ways. The most important is flakes resulting from matrix production. The two others are flakes produced during different knapping schemes, some flakes in relation to the few cores present, other flakes in exogenous raw materials produced elsewhere and generally much larger. The other classes are dominated by bipolar products resulting essentially from knapping accidents. To summarize, these assemblages are characterized by: the search for tools differentiated by form and active edges; more than 90% of the tools made on two kinds of supports: a matrix with a simple bevel or a double bevel; matrices obtained using different operational schemes successively associating if necessary a knapping stage and a shaping stage. While the Triassic limestone is hard and thus imposes a strong constraint on knapping, the range of operational schemes appears to have been a “cultural” response diversified to this constraint and the presence of tools on exogenous raw materials. At the scale of China, comparison of this industry is impossible since it is the only site of this age and to contain so much material. The site of Majuangou, the only site of similar caliber, is younger by several hundred thousand years and is located several thousand kilometers to the north, making comparisons meaningless. We note only that most of the tool supports at Majuangou are knapped flakes. On an inter-continental scale, the comparison of sites of equal age is more promising. But lithic analyses are based on different methods, preventing comparison of similar data. However, if we make a simple summary of the data available, we can first say that in Africa, during these periods, different development technological stages were present and stages that are considered more evolved are manifestly less common using our approach. While these stages are more or less contemporaneous, which counters the idea of uniqueness, they would more surely be evidence of populations that were not in direct contact and had separate lines of development. In Asia, the Longgupo industry evidences a different technological option than that of contemporaneous populations in Africa. By contrast, when we take into account its developmental stage, we realize that this is an “evolved” stage in which the form of the support of the future tool is predominant. If we compare Africa and Asia in terms of stages, we are a priori at the same stage with different options being selected.     

Sur un occipital néandertalien des Pradelles (Marillac-le-Franc, Charente) : étude morphométrique préliminaire

In 2001 and 2003, several occipital fragments of a single mature skull were unearthed on the site of les Pradelles (Marillac-le-Franc, Charente). The archaeological context of the deposit allowed us to provisionally assign the remains to the Neandertal taxon. A morphometric study of this piece was conducted in order to confirm its placement in this lineage. Some features observed on this specimen and commonly described among Neandertals (e.g. the presence of a suprainiac fossa) as well as dimensional data locate the les Pradelles occipital within the morphological variability of Neandertals.     

Étude de faisabilité du ganglion sentinelle dans le cancer de la prostate par cœlioscopie : premiers résultats

Objectives

The standard lymphadenectomy is currently a challenge in the management of prostate cancer. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the performance of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) by laparoscopy in patients with localized prostate cancer, candidates for local treatment.

Patients and methods

Patients were injected transrectal ultrasound-guided with 0.3 mL/100MBq 99^mTc-Sulfur rhenium colloid in each prostatic lobe, the day before surgery. Lymphoscintigraphy was performed after 2 hours. The detection was realized intraoperatively with a laparoscopic probe (Gamma Sup Clerad^®) followed by extensive dissection. Counts of SLN were performed in vivo and confirmed ex vivo. The histological analysis was performed by HPS staining and followed by immunochemistry if SLN was free.

Results

Seventy patients with carcinoma of the prostate at intermediate or high risk of lymph node metastases (D’Amico), PSA median 9.5 ng/mL [6–130], were included in the study. The lymphoscintigraphic detection rate was 94.2% (66/70) and intraoperative of 97.0% (68/70). Fourteen patients had lymph node metastases, six only in SLN. The false negative rate was 2/14 (14.0%). The internal iliac region is the first metastatic site (40.9%). Limited or standard lymph node dissection would have ignored respectively 72.7% and 59.0% of lymph node metastases.

Conclusion

The laparoscopy is adapted to a broad identification of SLN and targeted dissection of these lymph nodes significantly limits the risk of surgical extended dissection while maintaining the accuracy of the information.     

Valeur pronostique du curage ganglionnaire prophylactique dans le cancer différencié de la thyroïde

Objective

Although the efficacy of total thyroidectomy as the first step in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) management is well proven, it is always a matter of controversy whether prophylactic lymph node dissection improves prognosis and survival in DTC patients without suspicion of lymph node metastases either clinically or radiologically. The aim of this work is to study relapse rates in patients according to the initial presentation and type of surgery performed, in order to analyze the prognostic impact of lymph node dissection.

Patients and methods

One hundred and thirty patients with DTC were classified according to clinical presentation and type of surgery performed. They were monitored for six years to watch for recurrence.

Results

In patients with no clinical evident lymph nodes, the relapse rate was lower among patients who underwent total thyroidectomy in one step with prophylactic lymph node dissection.

Conclusion

Based on the results of other studies, and on our department experience of thyroid cancer management and monitoring, we strongly advocate careful and systematic exploration of the central lymph node compartments with exploration of the lateral side of the lesion if in doubt.     

Le gisement acheuléen de plein air de La Garde (Loire). Remarques sur une série lithique acheuléenne entre Rhône et Loire

The lithic assemblage of La Garde offers the opportunity to observe a Final Acheulean series located in the Loire department (south-east France). The site was probably a multi-activity place asking large tools and flakes, according to the strategies used by humans. Three main categories of large bifacial tools mainly made of flint can be described, with a triangular or oval shape and with a transversal cutting edge. These tools are more bifacial-tools than bifaces through the kind of shaping and the retouches on the cutting edges. The Levallois flaking is associated to various other types of knapping. The site, located along a small valley, suggests a human circulating between the Saône-Rhône corridor and the interior basins of the Massif Central Mountains. The Rhodanian corridor yielded little evidence of Acheulean settlements while in the Centre of France, they are numerous. La Garde proves that systematic prospecting in this area will permit in future to complete the map of the Acheulean occupations in south-east France.     

Données stratigraphiques, archéologiques et insertion chronologique de la séquence de Longgupo

The site of Longgupo is located north of the subtropical zone and is part of the domain of eastern fauna. The large number of mammal species identified at this site enables clarification of the broad pattern of paleoenvironmental change for the three assemblages from the first stratigraphic sequence (Huang W.-B. excavations). The different species have been classified in four biogeographic groups: subtropical (moderate monsoon), tropical forest (hot and humid climate), montane (cold climate) and prairie (cold and dry climate). Variation in the representation rate of each of these groups enables general reconstruction of the paleoenvironments for the three assemblages identified at Longgupo: a lower assemblage in a hot and humid climate with cold and dry episodes, an intermediate assemblage in a rather cold and dry climate in the lower part, becoming progressively warmer and humid toward the top of the sequence with a monsoon influence more marked than the present day, and an upper assemblage in a rather cold and dry climate. This biochronology and general paleoenvironmental reconstruction are clearly important, but as mentioned above, the stratum by stratum correspondence between the old and new stratigraphic sequences has been quite difficult because the position of material recovered during the early excavations was not recorded.     

Le site des Vachons : étude de la partie gravettienne de la collection de l’IPH

This article firstly summarizes the process of study of an old collection, which had not been considered since the excavations at the site Les Vachons, started before 1914 and completed around 1939. The studied collection of J. Coiffard, both excavator and inventor of this site, includes four-fifths of the artefacts because, in 1940, he donated approximately one fifth to the Eyzies Museum. For his part, J. Bouyssonie who participated in the excavations for 3 years gave the major part of his own collection to the Archaeological Society of Charentes Angouleme where its condition makes it difficult to analyze. Despite these restrictions, based on statistical comparisons with counts many other sites, I came to the conclusion that the top three layers of Les Vachons are a confirmation of the Gravettian model, developed by B. Bosselin and F. Djindjian through their factor analysis. This model seems much better suited to the stratigraphy of Les Vachons, than all assumptions made by previous analysts in their attempt to bring the industries from the three layers in what remains from the Peyrony model.     

Les associations des calpionelles du Berriasien et du Valanginien inférieur de la Tunisie septentrionale. Comparaison avec les associations du Rif externe (Maroc)

The study of ten thin sections from outcrops from Lower Cretaceous deposits and several thin sections obtained from three petroleum wells, allow us to better characterize the associations of calpionellid zones and subzones of the Berriasian and Lower Valanginian in northern Tunisia. The B and C zones, respectively, show three and two levels with calpionellid associations corresponding to B1, B2, B3 and C1, C2 subzones. In the D zone, associations of the D1 and D2 subzones were identified. The E zone has been characterized for the first time in Tunisia and in southern-Tethyan margin of North Africa, on the basis of its index specie and associated species.     

Zaozer'e, un nouveau site du Paléolithique supérieur ancien dans le nord-est de l'Europe. Rapport préliminaire

This paper presents preliminary archaeological and chronostratigraphical data obtained during pilot excavations of one of the northernmost European Early Upper Palaeolithic sites, Zaozer'e, situated on the western slope of the Middle Urals.     

Association hyperthyroïdie et cancer thyroïdien différencié (médullaire exclu). À propos de sept observations

The aim of this study was to draw attention to the fact that hyperthyroidism does not exclude the possibility of concurrent thyroid carcinoma. We analyzed the frequency and consequences of this association through seven cases of thyrotoxic patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma followed by a review of literature.

Patients and methods

The nuclear medicine department of the CHU Ibn Sina has more than 3000 cases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma where 10 patients with association of hyperthyroidism could be retrieved. Our study focused on seven cases well documented and regularly followed. The main parameters collected were the following: age, sex, personal and family history of thyroid disease, clinical presentation, etiology of hyperthyroidism, preoperative paraclinical explorations, surgery performed, histopahological findings, complementary therapy and follow-up.

Results

Group included six females and one male, average age was 41.4 years. There were four cases of Graves’ disease, two cases of single toxic nodule and one case of functional multinodular goiter. All patients underwent total thyroidectomy. Final pathologic examination disclosed five papillary carcinomas and two follicular carcinomas. During 2 to 8 years follow-up, there was neither local recurrence nor metastasis.

Conclusion

The diagnosis of hyperthyroidism does not preclude concurrent thyroid carcinoma. Careful assessment of such patients is mandatory to exclude an associated thyroid malignancy particularly in the presence of a nodule in a hyperfunctioning thyroid.     

Le site de Longgupo dans son environnement géologique et géomorphologique

On a regional scale, Longgupo is found within a karstic landscape of fenglin-ouvala developed in the Triassic limestones of the Yangtze platform. After several seasons, it is now possible to define and propose a scenario for the formation of the site. During one of the intense karstification phases during the Cretaceous or early Tertiary, karstic conduits were created deep in the substratum. In concert with these deep flows and by karstic collapse, a cave was created. With the start of Himalayan uplift during the Oligocene and Miocene, the beginning of fluvial cutting was reflected by the partial erosion of the upper sandstone formations and the creation of the Miaoyu Valley. This action opened the cave, which would later be occupied by the hominid groups that interest us here. Probably at the end of the Tertiary, the cave, open at the bottom of the valley slope and facing upstream, began to be filled with alluvial deposits from the valley. The basal deposits (C III 10 of the current stratigraphic sequence, levels 20-13 of the first sequence) begin with black clays; at the Plio-Pleistocene transition, deposits become clearly alluvial, increasingly marked by reworking of surface and karstic clays and by systematically coarser contributions. During the deposition period of archaeological complexes III/III’ (previously levels 12-6), karstic collapse appears to have still been active. During the Lower Pleistocene sensu lato, the coarse nature of the deposits becomes accentuated. The material of complex II (previously levels 5-2) is a deposit that is clearly heterometric and coarse, composed at the end mainly of gravels, pebbles and more or less rounded blocks in a clayey matrix. At the conclusion of this new stage, the cave was entirely filled and, purely and simply, disappeared from the landscape. As the valley deepened during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, the Longgupo slope underwent profound changes, the last of the limestone blocks disappeared from the slope limit and the archaeological site was protected by the coarse breccias that carpeted the slope. The main cause for the sedimentation processes at the site of Longgupo is the hydrosystem of the Miaoyu he, although injections of karstic type sensu stricto cannot be excluded. All of the arguments effectively support alluvial deposition: pebbles, an alternation of coarse and clayey beds, systematic and repeated granulometric decrease. But the stratigraphic disposition was disturbed by deformations due to gravity and karstic origins; the alluvial sediments, rendered plastic by the high proportion of clayey beds, were deformed by gravity (deformation of beds, faults, slopes) following the direction of the slope and by karstic collapse along the two limestone walls north and south of the sites (in sub-parallel faults to the south and by circular aspiration to the north). To this is added a calcitic consolidation of the upper levels that made it difficult to excavate complex C II. The stratigraphic disposition of the archaeological levels at Longgupo is now well understood. It has thus been possible to collect samples for absolute dating, to be published soon.     

Apport de la fusion d’images tomoscintigraphiques avec la tomodensitométrie X ou l’imagerie par résonance magnétique en pathologie osseuse : expérience du service de médecine nucléaire de Sfax

The aim of our study was to assess the contribution of image fusion of SPECT combined with computed tomography (SPECT-CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (SPECT-MRI) in our daily practice of bone scintigraphy. Seventeen patients underwent a SPECT image fusion, SPECT-CT or MRI in addition to conventional bone scintigraphy. These acquisitions are made separately with images stored in DICOM format. The fusion was operated after a manual coregistration of the images. Results show that in 35.29% of cases, the image fusion allowed to pinpoint the exact location of increased uptake seen on the whole body scan and/or on static images. In 35.29% of cases, the fusion has confirmed a diagnosis doubtful in planar imaging. In five patients, representing 29.41% of cases, the fusion has corrected a diagnosis. In one patient (5.88% of cases), the fusion has eliminated a false positive related to increased uptake visualized on the whole body scan. In two patients (11.11% of cases), the fusion has eliminated false negative of bone scan in one case and of MRI in the other case. Finally, in nine patients (50% of cases), the fusion has influenced the therapeutic management.     

Métastase rénale d’un carcinome vésiculaire de la thyroïde révélée par le balayage du corps entier à l’iode 131

Distant metastasis of differentiated thyroid carcinoma generally affect lung and/or bone tissue. Renal metastasis from thyroid carcinoma is extremely rare. We report a case of renal metastasis from a follicular thyroid carcinoma in a 55-year-old man, occuring 11 years after total thyroidectomy, fortuitously discovered on a whole body scan carried out after 131-iodine therapy for neck recurrence of disease. Salient features of our clinical case are the fortuitous mode of discovery the unilateral localization of metastases and especially the long time interval which separates its detection from that of the primitive tumour. This case report exemplifies the useful role of the whole body scan carried out after 131-iodine therapy better adapted to reveal often undetectable occult metastases with low dose, but also to ensure a regular and protracted follow-up of patients treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma.     

Tumeur du scalp : mode révélateur rare de carcinome vésiculaire thyroïdien

Cutaneous metastases of thyroid follicular carcinoma are rare. A scalp metastasis revealing a thyroid cancer is exceptional. We report the case of a 70 year-old women who presented with a scalp tumor progressively increased. Morphological imaging disclosed an important cutaneous tumor in occipital region with osteolysis. Surgical resection of this tumor was performed and pathology identified a cutaneous metastasis of a thyroid follicular cancer. This case report illustrates a rare presenting sign of thyroid follicular cancer. Cutaneous metastases coexists with other metastases (bone or lung) and means and ominous prognostic factor for the evolution of thyroid follicular cancer.     

Traitement de l’hyperthyroïdie par l’iode 131 : à propos de 280 cas

We report through this work the experience of nuclear medicine department at Ibn-Sina hospital (Rabat), in the treatment of hyperthyroidism with iodine-131. We retrospectively studied a cohort of 280 patients with hyperthyroidism, from several regions of Morocco between January 2001 and January 2010. A clinical examination and a serum assessment of TSHus, FT4 and FT3 have been made at baseline and at 3, 6, 12 and 24 months after radioiodine therapy. The activity of iodine-131 administered ranged from 296 to 740 MBq and depended on the pathology being treated, age, thyroid volume, intensity of clinical and biological hyperthyroidism and socioeconomic situation. Radioiodine therapy has often been proposed as a treatment for second or third intention, 71 patients were initially treated with iodine-131, while 209 patients had received iodine-131 after failure of medical treatment and/or recurrence after surgical treatment. Graves’ disease was the most common etiology (60%), followed by toxic adenoma (20%), and multinodular toxic goiter (13%). The therapeutic efficacy of a single dose of radioiodine evaluated after a 6-months follow-up was 92% in Graves’ disease, 98% in toxic adenomas and 97% in toxic multinodular goiter. No acute complication was observed. Taking into account our socioeconomic context, radioiodine therapy remains the preferred treatment of hyperthyroidism in our country with good value vs. price and excellent tolerance.     

Radioactivité résiduelle avant vidange des cuves de décroissance de déchets liquides : bilan annuel d’un service de médecine nucléaire hospitalier au Luxembourg

Residual radioactivity within decay tanks in an in-hospital clinical nuclear medicine unit reflects the specific typology of the concerned unit. To learn how to improve management of emptying the tanks, measures of residual radioactivity over the year 2009 have been compared to prevailing legal norms in Luxembourg. Legal norms have in no case been outpassed. A minimal residual radioactivity, below legal thresholds, has been often found (84%). It concerned ¹³¹I, ^99mTc and ¹¹¹In. This is why management of radioactive decay tanks may be continued unchanged.     

Intérêt du dosage de la thyroglobulinémie chez les sujets porteurs du goitre en zones de déficience iodée au Bénin

In the present study, we analyze the results of thyroid hormones and thyroglobulinemia of 162 patients with goiter living in the departments of Collines and Donga, known to be areas of iodine deficiency in Benin. These results are compared with those of 85 healthy subjects living in the same departments. This study is a cross-sectional analytical study carried out from 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010. The population of patients consisted of seven males and 155 females. The average age was of 45.7 years. Most of the patients were suffering of simple goiter. Only six of them had thyroid nodules. The diagnosis of biological hyperthyroidism was positive for 20 patients; 16 of them had subclinical hypothyroidism and four clinical hyperthyroidism. One case of clinical hypothyroidism was found. All other 141 patients were biologically normal (euthyroidism). Seventeen of the patients (including six patients presenting a thyroid nodule) had a normal thyroglobulin rate. Hyperthyroglobulinemia was observed in all other 145 patients. These results suggest that patients with goiter in zone of iodine deficiency are biologically euthyroid with hyper-thyroglobulinemia. Thyroglobulin dosage is then recommended, especially when nodules are perceptible.