Thyroid

The thyroid gland is located in the neck, and its weight in a normal human being is about 15 grams. It consists of two lobes that surround the lower part of the larynx and the upper part of the trachea.

The thyroid gland is covered by a fibrous membrane that connects to the larynx and trachea and allows the gland to move freely up and down during swallowing.

The thyroid gland is fed by a group of arteries that always make it rich in blood. There is also a network of arterial connections between the arteries feeding the gland and the arteries of the esophagus and trachea. There is also a network of lymphatic vessels.

Some diseases that can occur to the thyroid gland:
1- Increased secretion of thyroid hormone or thyrotoxicosis:
This disease can occur at any age, although it occurs in women eight times more than in men. It is preferable to call this disease thyrotoxicosis, as the increase in thyroid hormone secretion is not the cause of all the symptoms that the patient suffers from, and an increase in thyroid activity can occur without it gland hyperplasia.

2- Hypothyroidism:
Thyroid weakness can occur at any age, as in the case of increased activity of the gland, where there can be weakness in the activity of the gland since birth as a result of a congenital defect, or that the gland does not exist from the ground up, and this weakness can occur in areas where there is a deficiency in the proportion of a substance Iodine is in the foods we eat, and the diagnosis of these cases is often done by pediatricians.

One of the causes of hypothyroidism is the presence of antibodies in the blood that lead to the failure of the thyroid gland to secrete the hormone, or that the reason is the surgical removal of a large part of the gland, or by affecting the gland by using radioactive iodine to treat a cancerous tumor that affects the gland.

3- Goiter :
The thyroid gland may increase in size as a result of the growth of the entire gland tissue, and swelling may occur in one area without the other in the form of a small ball called a nodule. It is not necessary that the change in size be accompanied by a hormonal change in the activity of the thyroid gland, although this happens sometimes.

Most of the time, the swelling or enlargement of the gland is benign, but sometimes the tumors are cancerous.

Among the problems that occur when the gland is greatly enlarged are the following:
Pressure on the trachea, especially if the inflation increased to the point that part of the gland became present inside the chest.
The occurrence of thyrotoxicosis, as we mentioned earlier.
Precancerous changes in the gland.
As for cancerous tumors in the thyroid gland, detecting them early gives a very high chance of treatment, reaching 90%, which is a high percentage compared to any other cancerous tumors.

From the aforementioned, anyone who suffers from thyroid problems must consult a doctor, where the doctor inquires about the history of the disease and about the symptoms that the patient complains about, such as an enlarged thyroid gland, or if there are symptoms resulting from an increase or decrease in thyroid hormone secretion. A family member had the same disease.

The doctor then examines the patient, and these examinations differ from one patient to another and can be summarized as follows:

Measurement of the level of thyroid hormone in the blood in addition to the stimulating hormone of the thyroid gland.
Ultrasound examination of the gland (sonar).
Imaging the gland with radioactive iodine or other radioactive materials in order to determine the extent of the gland enlargement, to clarify the presence of any nodes inside the gland.
In many cases, a sample of the gland must be taken with a fine needle and the tissue extracted must be examined under a microscope to ensure that there are no cancerous cells.
There are some tests that determine the presence of any antibodies in the blood that lead to a change in the level of thyroid hormone secretion.
Treatment of thyroid diseases: –
The treatment of thyroid diseases must be at the hands of specialized doctors so that the success of the treatment is inevitable, God willing.

Thyroidectomy: –
It is imperative to surgically remove the thyroid gland if it is greatly enlarged or sometimes when it contains thyroid nodes, in addition to some cases of thyrotoxicosis that do not respond to other treatments, as well as cases of thyroid cancer. The size of the tissue that the surgeon removes depends on the type of disease and several other factors.

The role of the patient
The patient should strive to follow the doctor’s instructions, and if he needs to take thyroid hormone after the operation, he must persevere in that, and he will be able to live a life he enjoys without complications, as long as he is accurate in implementing the doctor’s advice and instructions. There are other cases that require the patient to keep reviewing, such as cases of thyroid nodules that remain under observation without an operation, and cases of malignant tumors removed so that the doctor is assured that the tumor does not recur.

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