Biography
Biography: Uma Garg
Abstract
Thyroid gland being an important structure in neck is a vascular organ strategically located& bearing very close association with trachea, larynx, esophagus, carotid arteries & between the two important nerve recurrent laryngeal nerves. Swellings of thyroid per se can affect these structures. Thyroid also houses parathyroid glands which play an important part in calcium metabolism. Primarily thyroid enlargements are a common finding in females the incidence of this being almost 50% & this is referred to as incidentaloma’’. Owing to its central midline position it is easily noticed by others & felt or palpated by the patient. Symptoms of pressure on the anatomically close relations appear late & they are ominous in the sense that they warrant investigations to rule out true nature of thyroid swelling. Investigations are required in this subset of patients to know whether thyroid is involved primarily or secondarily. Decision on when & how to treat a thyroid swelling depends on a few basic investigations which will guide to true nature of thyroid involvement. Most of thyroid swellings are benign, cancers being very rare. Physiologically thyroid dysfunctions are seen but are treated medically rarely needing surgical intervention. For a judicious stratification of thyroid patient for investigations & treatment a thorough understanding of anatomy of this gland is essential. Therefore a brief review into the anatomy of thyroid gland is being presented here.