Measurements of (A) epithelial height, (B) follicular area, and (C) numbers of nuclei per unit area. The thyroid glands removed in Fig. 2 (n = 3 or 4 for each group) were used for the measurements. The black and white bars indicate the control and Atg5^thyr-KO/KO mice, respectively. (A) The diagram on the left shows measurements of epithelial height, with Lf and Lc representing the lengths of follicle and colloid, respectively, and Wc and Wf representing the widths of follicle and colloid, respectively (33). (D) Representative photo on the left shows gourd-shaped follicles. Data are means ± SE. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01. M, months.