Product Description

The thyroid gland, or simply the thyroid, is one of the largest endocrine glands in the body, and consists of two connected lobes. It is found in the anterior neck, below the laryngeal prominence (Adam’s apple). The thyroid is composed of spherical follicles that selectively absorb iodine (as iodide ions, I-) from the blood for production of thyroid hormones, and also for storage of iodine in thyroglobulin. Twenty-five percent of the body’s iodide ions are in the thyroid gland. Inside the follicles, in a region called the follicular lumen, colloid serves as a reservoir of materials for thyroid hormone production and, to a lesser extent, acts as a reservoir for the hormones themselves. Colloid is rich in a protein called thyroglobulin. The follicles are surrounded by a single layer of follicular cells, which secrete T3 and T4. When the gland is not secreting T3 and T4 (inactive), the epithelial cells range from low columnar to cuboidal cells. When active, the epithelial cells become tall columnar cells. Scattered among follicular cells and in spaces between the spherical follicles are another type of thyroid cell, parafollicular cells (also called “C cells”), which secrete calcitonin.