Anatomy of Thyroid

Anatomy of thyroid
Renuga P
Final year MBBS
Introduction
► The thyroid gland is the largest endocrine gland
with rich blood supply situated in the lower part of
the front and sides of the neck.
► It regulates the basal metabolic rate, stimulates
psychosomatic growth of the body, plays an
important role in calcium metabolism.
► The gland consists of right and left lobes that are
joined to each other by isthmus
The gland weighs about 25 g
Location
► The thyroid gland is located opposite to C5, C6, C7
and T1 vertebrae clasping the upper part of the
trachea.
► Each lobe extends from middle of thyroid cartilage
to 4th or 5th tracheal ring
► The isthmus extends from 2nd to 4th tracheal ring
Capsules of thyroid
► True capsule
► False capsule
Parts and relations
Each lobe of the thyroid gland is roughly pyramidal
and presents
► Apex
► Base
► Three surfaces
► Two borders
Relations of isthmus
► Two surfaces- anterior and posterior and two borders-
superior and inferior
► Anterior surface is related to strap muscles
(sternothyroid and sternohyoid), anterior jugular veins
► Posterior surface is related to 2nd,3rd, 4th tracheal
rings
► Superior border is related to anastomoses between
anterior branches of two superior thyroid arteries
► Inferior border - along this border inferior thyroid vein
emerge
Arterial supply
►Superior thyroid artery- it is a branch of external
carotid artery
►Inferior thyroid artery – it is a branch of
thyrocervical trunk from the first part of subclavian
artery
►Thyroidea ima artery
►Accessory thyroid arteries.
Venous drainage
► The venous blood from thyroid gland is drained by
three set of veins
► Superior thyroid vein
► Middle thyroid vein
► Inferior thyroid vein
► Thyroid vein of Kocher
Lymphatic drainage
1. The upper group drains into prelaryngeal and

upper deep cervical lymph nodes
2. The lower group drains into pretracheal and lower
deep cervical lymph nodes and group of lymph
nodes along recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Nerve supply
1. The parasympathetic supply is derived from vagus
and recurrent laryngeal nerve
2. The sympathetic supply is derived from superior,
middle and inferior cervical sympathetic ganglia.
Histology
The thyroid gland is made up of two types of
secretory cells
Follicular cells
Parafollicular cells
Embryology
► At 3rd week of intrauterine life
► It develops as a endodermal thickening just behind
the tuberculum impar at foramen cecum
► This thickening forms a diverticulum called
thyroglossal duct
► This descends slightly to the left of middle and in
front of thyroid cartilage,it bifurcates into two lobes
of thyroid and the central portion forms isthmus
► The portion of the thyroglossal duct near the
isthmus forms the pyramidal lobe
► It is the first gland to become functional by 7th
week of intrauterine life
► Sometimes the pyramidal lobe may be attached to
body of hyoid bone by a fibrous or fibromuscular
band called levator glandular thyroideae
Congenital anomalies of thyroid
Thyroid agenesis - failure of its formation
Lingual thyroid - failure of thyroid descend
Aberrant thyroid - over descend of thyroid gland in
the thorax
Thyroglossal cyst - it is the persistence of a part of the
thyroglossal duct
Thyroglossal fistula - thyroglossal duct opens to skin
Surgical importance
The nerves related to thyroid gland and their significance
during thyroidectomy
► External laryngeal nerve
It lies immediately behind the superior thyroid artery at
the upper pole of thyroid lobe.so during thyroidectomy
the artery is ligated right at the upper lobe,not some
distance from it to avoid damage to the nerve.
Injury to the external laryngeal nerve causes paralysis of
cricothyroid muscle which may cause temporary
hoarseness of voice
► Recurrent laryngeal nerve
RLN triangle - bound medially by recurrent
laryngeal nerve, superiorly by inf thyroid artery and
laterally by common carotid artery
Injury to recurrent laryngeal nerve can cause
unilateral vocal cord paralysis. the patient
complains of new onset hoarseness,changes in
vocal pitch or noisy breathing
During thyroidectomy, the superior thyroid artery is
ligated near the gland to save the external laryngeal
nerve and the inferior thyroid artery is ligated away
from the gland to save recurrent laryngeal nerve

Anatomy of Thyroid - 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Anatomy of Thyroid - 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Anatomy of Thyroid - 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1. The upper group drains into prelaryngeal and

You might also like