Thyroid Diseases

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Summary

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck, just above your collarbone. It is one of your endocrine glands, which make hormones. Thyroid hormones control the rate of many activities in your body. These include how fast you burn calories and how fast your heart beats. All of these activities are your body's metabolism.

Thyroid problems include

Goiter - enlargement of the thyroid gland
Hyperthyroidism - when your thyroid gland makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs
Hypothyroidism - when your thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormones
Thyroid cancer
Thyroid nodules - lumps in the thyroid gland
Thyroiditis - swelling of the thyroid

To diagnose thyroid diseases, doctors use a medical history, physical exam, and thyroid tests. They sometimes also use a biopsy. Treatment depends on the problem, but may include medicines, radioiodine therapy, or thyroid surgery.

Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health

Start Here

Thinking About Your Thyroid: Get to Know This Small But Mighty Gland (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Disease (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Disease (for Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
Thyroid Disorders Overview (Hormone Health Network)

Diagnosis and Tests

Needle Biopsy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
T3 (Triiodothyronine) Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
Thyroid Antibodies (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Scan and Uptake (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Tests (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Thyroxine (T4) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
TSH (Thyroid-stimulating hormone) test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Ultrasound of the Thyroid Gland (American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Thyroid (Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

Neck Check (American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists) - PDF

Treatments and Therapies

Thyroid Disease and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) (American Thyroid Association)
Thyroid Hormone Treatment (American Thyroid Association) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Surgery (American Thyroid Association) Also in Spanish
Thyroidectomy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

Celiac Disease and Thyroid Conditions (Gluten Intolerance Group) - PDF
Pendred Syndrome (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) Also in Spanish
Potassium Iodide (KI) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
You and Your Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)

Specifics

Thyroid Nodules (Hormone Health Network) Also in Spanish
Thyroiditis (American Thyroid Association)

Genetics

Genetics Home Reference: inherited thyroxine-binding globulin deficiency (National Library of Medicine)
Genetics Home Reference: Pendred syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Images

Thyroidectomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Goiter (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Thyroid Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Thyroiditis, Autoimmune (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Introduction to the Endocrine System (Hormone Health Network)

Find an Expert

American Thyroid Association
Find an Endocrinologist (Hormone Health Network)
Find an Endocrinology - Thyroid Specialist (American Thyroid Association)
Find an ENT (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
Hormone Health Network
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

Childhood Head and Neck Irradiation (American Thyroid Association) - PDF
Thyroid Disorders (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation)

Women

Postpartum Thyroiditis (American Thyroid Association) - PDF
Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

Older Adults

Thyroid Disease in the Older Patient (American Thyroid Association)
Thyroid Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging)

Patient Handouts

Antithyroglobulin antibody (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Antithyroid microsomal antibody (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Goiter (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Radioactive iodine uptake (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Silent thyroiditis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Subacute thyroiditis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
T3 test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
T4 test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Thyroid gland removal (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Thyroid nodule (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Thyroid storm (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Thyroid Tests (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
TSH test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish