Hypoechoic thyroid foci

There are many thyroid patients in our lives. Everyone thinks that thyroid disease is incurable. After getting thyroid, people will become very panic. In fact, this disease can be treated in modern times, because the current technology is more advanced, unlike in ancient times. However, generally, the drugs for treating thyroid are hormone drugs. When checking again, low echo foci of thyroid will be found. What's going on?

The thyroid gland (Latin: Glandula thyr(e)oidea; English: Thyroid) is a very important gland in vertebrates and an endocrine organ. In mammals, it is located below the thyroid cartilage in the neck, on either side of the trachea. The human thyroid gland is shaped like a butterfly and like a shield, hence the name. The average weight of an adult's thyroid gland is 20-40g. The thyroid gland is covered with a connective tissue capsule. The surface connective tissue penetrates deep into the glandular parenchyma, dividing the parenchyma into many inconspicuous lobules, which contain many thyroid follicles and parafollicular cells. The thyroid gland controls the rate at which energy is used, makes proteins, and regulates the body's sensitivity to other hormones. The thyroid gland regulates these responses by producing the hormones thyroxine, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine, also known as tetraiodothyronine (T4). Both regulate metabolism, growth rate, and regulate other body systems. T3 and T4 are synthesized from iodine and tyrosine. The thyroid gland also produces calcitonin, which regulates calcium balance in the body.

Normally most people do not know where the thyroid gland is located, but most people are familiar with "thick neck disease". In fact, "thick neck disease" is an enlarged thyroid gland, which tells us that the thyroid gland is located in the neck. To be more specific, we can feel what we usually call the "Adam's apple" ourselves. The thyroid gland is located about 2 to 3 centimeters below the "Adam's apple" and can move up and down with it when we swallow.

The thyroid gland is shaped like an "H", brown-red in color, and consists of two lobes, left and right, connected by an isthmus in the middle. The two side lobes are attached to the outer sides of the lower larynx and the upper trachea, reaching the middle part of the thyroid cartilage and the sixth tracheal cartilage. The isthmus is mostly located in front of the second to fourth tracheal cartilages and is underdeveloped in some people. Sometimes a cone-shaped lobe extends upward from the isthmus. It varies in length, with the longer one reaching the hyoid bone. It is a relic of embryonic development and often gradually degenerates with age, so it is more common in children than in adults.

There is a fibrous capsule outside the thyroid gland, called the thyroid capsule. This capsule extends into the glandular tissue and divides the gland into lobules of varying sizes. The capsule is covered with the deep cervical fascia (pretracheal layer). There is often ligament-like connective tissue connecting the lateral lobes of the thyroid gland and the cricoid cartilage. Therefore, when swallowing, the thyroid gland can move up and down with swallowing.