- Acute Flaccid Myelitis
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- Diabetes Medicines
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- Pregnancy
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- Cholesterol Levels: What You Need to Know
- Cholesterol Medicines
- DASH Eating Plan
- Eating Disorders
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- HDL: The “Good” Cholesterol
- High Cholesterol in Children and Teens
- How to Lower Cholesterol
- How to Lower Cholesterol with Diet
- Infant and Newborn Nutrition
- LDL: The “Bad” Cholesterol
- Malabsorption Syndromes
- Nutrition for Older Adults
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- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency
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Thyroid Diseases
Summary
Your thyroid is a small, butterfly-shaped gland in the front of your neck. It makes hormones that control the way the body uses energy. These hormones affect nearly every organ in your body and control many of your body’s most important functions. For example, they affect your breathing, heart rate, weight, digestion, and moods.
Thyroid diseases cause your thyroid to make either too much or too little of the hormones. Some of the different thyroid diseases include:
- Goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland
- Hyperthyroidism, which happens when your thyroid gland makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs
- Hypothyroidism, which happens when your thyroid gland does not make enough thyroid hormones
- Thyroid cancer
- Thyroid nodules, lumps in the thyroid gland
- Thyroiditis, swelling of the thyroid
To diagnose thyroid diseases, your health care provider may use a medical history, physical exam, and thyroid tests. In some cases, your provider may also do a biopsy.
Treatment depends on the problem, how severe it is, and what your symptoms are. Possible treatments may include medicines, radioiodine therapy, or thyroid surgery.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Encyclopedia
- ACE blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Eyes – bulging Medical Encyclopedia
- Retrosternal thyroid surgery Medical Encyclopedia
- T3RU test Medical Encyclopedia
- TBG blood test Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid gland removal – discharge Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid scan Medical Encyclopedia
- Toxic nodular goiter Medical Encyclopedia
- TSI test Medical Encyclopedia
Find an Expert
- American Thyroid Association American Thyroid Association
- Find an Endocrinologist Endocrine Society
- Find an Endocrinology – Thyroid Specialist American Thyroid Association
- Find an ENT American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Patient Handouts
- Antithyroglobulin antibody test Medical Encyclopedia
- Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid Medical Encyclopedia
- Free T4 test Medical Encyclopedia
- Goiter Medical Encyclopedia
- Radioactive iodine uptake Medical Encyclopedia
- Silent thyroiditis Medical Encyclopedia
- Subacute thyroiditis Medical Encyclopedia
- T3 test Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid gland removal Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid nodule Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid peroxidase antibody Medical Encyclopedia
- Thyroid storm Medical Encyclopedia
- TSH test Medical Encyclopedia
Related Issues
- Celiac Disease and Thyroid Conditions Gluten Intolerance Group
- Pendred Syndrome National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
- Potassium Iodide (KI) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Children
- Childhood Head and Neck Irradiation American Thyroid Association
- Thyroid Disorders (For Kids) Nemours Foundation
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Goiter National Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Thyroid Diseases National Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Thyroiditis, Autoimmune National Institutes of Health
Treatments and Therapies
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Thyroid Disease (CAM) American Thyroid Association
- Older Therapies Aren’t Necessarily Better for Thyroid Hormone Replacement Food and Drug Administration
- Thyroid Hormone Treatment American Thyroid Association
- Thyroid Surgery American Thyroid Association
- Thyroidectomy Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Prevention and Risk Factors
- How to Check Your Thyroid American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists
Genetics
- Inherited thyroxine-binding globulin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
- Pendred syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics National Library of Medicine
Diagnosis and Tests
- Needle Biopsy Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Thyroid Antibodies National Library of Medicine
- Thyroid Scan and Uptake Radiological Society of North America
- Thyroid Tests National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Thyroxine (T4) Test National Library of Medicine
- Triiodothyronine (T3) Tests National Library of Medicine
- TSH (Thyroid-stimulating hormone) test National Library of Medicine
- Ultrasound – Thyroid Radiological Society of North America
- Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Thyroid Radiological Society of North America
Women
- Postpartum Thyroiditis American Thyroid Association
- Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Journal Articles
Start Here
- Thyroid and Parathyroid Hormones Endocrine Society
- Thyroid Disease Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
- Thyroid Disease (for Parents) Nemours Foundation
Older Adults
- Thyroid Disease in the Older Patient American Thyroid Association
- Thyroid Problems AGS Health in Aging Foundation
Specifics
- Thyroid Eye Disorders American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
- Thyroid Nodules Endocrine Society
- Thyroiditis American Thyroid Association
Images
- Thyroidectomy – series — Normal anatomy Medical Encyclopedia