Hypothyroidism

Lesson 1: Thyroid 101

What is the thyroid?

At the end of this section you should be able to:

• define the thyroid,
• give a basic description of its appearance,
• locate it on the human body,
• describe its basic role in the endocrine system,
• and be discuss what the endocrine system, hormones, glands and the metabolism are and do.

The thyroid is the biggest gland in the neck. As far as the other glands go; however, it is relatively small. It has a big job, which we will discuss in the next section.

So, how small is it?

Well, the actual size of the thyroid can vary slightly from one person to another. Generally it weighs about one ounce.

What does the thyroid look like?

It is butterfly, or bowtie, in shape and located in the lower part of the neck in front of the trachea, or windpipe. The gland’s “butterfly” wings are the left and right thyroid lobes. They actually wrap around the trachea, and come behind and below the Adam’s apple.

Since we’ve established that the thyroid is a gland, let’s briefly discuss what a gland does. A gland is a group of cells that work together to make a substance that other parts of the body can use in their functioning. For example, the pancreas is a gland that makes and releases insulin help regulate blood sugar levels throughout the body.

The thyroid is considered an endocrine gland. That means that the thyroid secretes its hormones inside the body and that the usage of those hormones affects the body’s metabolism. Hormones are chemicals released by one special group of cells such as a gland, which tell other cells what to do. The metabolism refers to the processes by which the body chemical alters food to keep its cells alive, in some way.

The endocrine system, therefore, is comprised of glands such as the thyroid and the pancreas which secrete hormones that trigger responses in different parts of the body. If the metabolism is like the engine of a car; then, the endocrine system is the gas line which brings the fuel to the engine so it can run.

Now that we have a basic idea of what the thyroid does, where it’s located in the body and how it functions within the endocrine system, we can move onto the next section.

Questions to be thinking about for the next section:

• What does the thyroid do?
• What hormones does it produce?
• How do the thyroid affect the metabolism?

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