{"id":2107,"date":"2020-09-07T09:34:31","date_gmt":"2020-09-07T09:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/head-and-neck\/head\/thyroid-gland\/"},"modified":"2020-12-09T00:05:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T22:05:00","slug":"thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/skull-head-and-neck\/neck\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\/","title":{"rendered":"Thyroid and parathyroid glands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The thyroid and parathyroid glands are endocrine glands located in the anterior region of the neck.<\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a>
Figure 1. The thyroid gland<\/strong> (Credit: OpenStax, CC BY-SA 4.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thyroid gland<\/h3>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

The thyroid gland is typically bi-lobed with a short isthmus connecting between the lobes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is surrounded by a connective tissue capsule and is firmly attached to the cricoid cartilage and the superior part of the trachea by connective tissue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some cases, the thyroid gland has an additional lobe, called a pyramidal lobe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to mistake the thyroid gland for a skeletal muscle due to its appearance and consistency\u00a0in the cadaver (see Figure 2).<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

Functions<\/h3>\n<\/span>\n\n\n
  1. Production of thyroid hormone and the storage of its precursors<\/li>
  2. Production of calcitonin<\/li>
  3. Storage of iodine<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

    Location<\/h3>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

    The thyroid gland is located around the trachea and inferior part of the larynx, deep to the sternothyroid and sternohyoid muscles, at the level of C5-T1 vertebra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/a>
    Figure 2. Thyroid gland and related structures<\/strong>\u00a0(Credit: Anatomist90, CC BY-SA 3.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

    Parathyroid glands<\/h3>\n<\/span>\n\n\n

    The parathyroid glands<\/strong> are small nodules usually located on the posterior surface of the thyroid gland, although their location is highly variable. The parathyroid glands produce parathyroid hormone.
    Due to their morphology, they are usually mistaken for lymph nodes.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span>\n

    Neurovasculature<\/h3>\n<\/span>\n\n\n
    Blood supply<\/strong><\/td>Superior thyroid arteries\u00a0from the external carotid artery
    Inferior thyroid arteries\u00a0from the thyrocervical trunk of the subclavian artery
    Thyroid ima artery: An anatomical variant occurring in ~10% of the population. May arise from any of the great vessels or their branches<\/td><\/tr>
    Venous drainage<\/strong><\/td>The\u00a0thyroid venous plexus\u00a0drains into the following veins:
    Superior thyroid veins\u00a0which drain to the internal jugular veins
    Middle thyroid veins\u00a0which also drain to the internal jugular veins
    Inferior thyroid veins\u00a0which drain to the brachiocephalic veins<\/td><\/tr>
    Innervation<\/strong><\/td>The thyroid gland is innervated by the\u00a0sympathetic cervical trunks. The innervation reaches the gland by fibers that accompany the arteries that supply it<\/td><\/tr>
    Lymphatic drainage<\/strong><\/td>Prelaryngeal nodes
    Pretrachea nodes
    Paratracheal nodes
    These nodes drain to the deep cervical lymph nodes. Some lymphatic vessels may drain directly to the\u00a0thoracic duct.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
    Table 1. Neurovasculature of the thyroid and parathyroid glands<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/span>

    Thyroid gland<\/h3>

    Functions<\/h3>

    Location<\/h3>

    Parathyroid glands<\/h3>

    Neurovasculature<\/h3><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Thyroid gland The thyroid gland is typically bi-lobed with a short isthmus connecting between the lobes. It is surrounded by a connective tissue capsule and is firmly attached to the cricoid cartilage and the superior part of the trachea by connective tissue. In some cases, the thyroid gland has an additional lobe, called a pyramidal lobe. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1163,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2107","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThyroid and parathyroid glands – Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/pre-clinical\/anatomy\/skull-head-and-neck\/neck\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/\",\"name\":\"Thyroid and parathyroid glands – Meddists\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/TG.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-09-07T09:34:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-12-08T22:05:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/pre-clinical\\\/anatomy\\\/skull-head-and-neck\\\/neck\\\/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/TG.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/TG.png\",\"width\":724,\"height\":940,\"caption\":\"Figure 1. 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