Thyroid gland
A ductless gland, consisting of irregularly spheroidal follicles, lying in front and to the sides of the upper part of the trachea, and of horseshoe shape, with two lateral lobes connected by a narrow central portion, the isthmus; occasionally an elongated offshoot, the pyramidal lobe, passes upward from the isthmus in front of the trachea. Branches from the external carotid and subclavian arteries supply it, and its nerves are derived from the middle cervical and cervicothoracic ganglia of the sympathetic system. It secretes thyroid hormone and calcitonin. Syn: glandula thyroidea [NA], thyroid body, thyroidea.
Thyroid
1. Resembling a shield; denoting a gland (thyroid gland) and a cartilage of the larynx (thyroid cartilage) having such a shape.
2. The cleaned, dried, and powdered thyroid gland obtained from one of the domesticated animals used for food and containing 0.17 to 0.23% of iodine; used in the treatment of hypothyroidism, cretinism and myxedema, in certain cases of obesity, and in skin disorders.
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