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Thyroid Nodules
Thyroid nodules are solid or fluid-filled lumps that form within your thyroid. Thyroid nodules are common and affect four times as many women as men. Researchers don't know why they form, but most thyroid nodules don't cause symptoms and aren't cancerous. Learn more about thyroid nodules and how they're treated.
Woman's neck region with visible thyroid
Image by TheVisualMD
Thyroxine, Total (T4): Thyroid Gland
Image by TheVisualMD
A thyroid nodule (NAHD-yool) is a swelling in one section of the thyroid gland. The nodule may be solid or filled with fluid or blood. You may have just one thyroid nodule or many.
Thyroid nodules are common and affect four times as many women as men. Researchers do not know why nodules form in otherwise normal thyroids.
Source: Office on Women's Health (OWH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Woman With Goiter Due to Hypothyroidism
Image by TheVisualMD
Most thyroid nodules do not cause symptoms and are not cancerous. Some thyroid nodules make too much thyroid hormone, causing hyperthyroidism. Sometimes, nodules grow so big that they cause problems with swallowing or breathing. About one-third of nodules are found by the patient, another third by the doctor, and the other third through an imaging test of the neck.
You can sometimes see or feel a thyroid nodule yourself. Stand in front of a mirror and raise your chin slightly. Look for a bump on either side of your windpipe below your Adam's apple. If the bump moves up and down when you swallow, it may be a thyroid nodule. Ask your doctor to look at it.
Source: Office on Women's Health (OWH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
A) Normal thyroid, B) Graves disease C) Plummers disease, D) Toxic adenoma, E) Thyroiditis
Image by Petros Perros
It can be hard to tell if you have a thyroid disease. The symptoms are the same as many other health problems. Your doctor may start by asking about your health history and if any of your family members has had thyroid disease. Your doctor may also give you a physical exam and check your neck for thyroid nodules.
Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may also do other tests, such as:
High levels of radioiodine mean that your thyroid makes too much of the thyroid hormone. Low levels mean that your thyroid does not make enough thyroid hormone.
Three types of nodules show up in this test:
Ultrasound may also be helpful in finding thyroid cancer, although by itself it cannot be used to diagnose thyroid cancer.
Source: Office on Women's Health (OWH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Thyroid Tests
Also called: Thyroid Function Tests, Thyroid Studies, Thyroid Panel
Thyroid tests check how well your thyroid is working. They are also used to diagnose and help find the cause of thyroid diseases such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Thyroid tests include blood tests and imaging tests.
TSH (Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone) Test
Also called: TSH, Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone, Thyrotropin
The test measures the amount of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in a sample of your blood. TSH is made in the pituitary gland and stimulates the release of thyroid hormone. If your TSH levels are too high or too low, it can indicate a thyroid disorder.
Reverse Triiodothyronine Test
Also called: Reverse T3, rT3
Reverse triiodothyronine (T3) is a biologically inactive thyroidal hormone that helps save energy in a stressful condition. Testing for rT3 allows doctors to assess the function of thyroidal gland if the symptoms of thyroidal disorder appear.
Triiodothyronine (T3) Tests
Also called: T3 Test, T3 Free and Total
This test measures triiodothyronine (T3) in your blood. Your thyroid gland makes T3. T3 plays an important role in the body's control of metabolism (the many processes that control the rate of activity in cells and tissues). The test is mainly used to diagnose hyperthyroidism.
Triiodothyronine Uptake Test
Also called: T3 Uptake, T3U, T3 Resin Uptake, T3RU, Thyroid Hormone-binding Ratio, THBR
3 uptake test is an indirect way of evaluating the levels of thyroxine-related protein and thyroid hormones. This test is used together with other thyroid tests to assess the function of your thyroid gland in case of suspected disorder.
Thyroxine Test
Also called: Thyroxine Screen, Tetraiodothyronine
This test measures the level of thyroxine (T4) in the blood. T4 is the main hormone secreted into the bloodstream by the thyroid gland. Too much or too little T4 can indicate thyroid disease.
Thyroxine-Binding Globulin Test
Also called: TBG
This test measures the amount of thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) in a sample of your blood. It is used to assess thyroid gland function and to help diagnose thyroid disorders.
Thyroid Peroxidase Antibody Test
Also called: TPO Ab, Thyroperoxidase Ab, Antimicrosomal Antibody, Antithyroid Microsomal Antibody, Anti-TPO antibody
Thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies are proteins that mistakenly attack the thyroid gland, potentially leading to damage, long-term inflammation (thyroiditis), and disruption of thyroid function.
Thyroglobulin Test
Also called: TGB, Thyroglobulin Tumor Marker
A thyroglobulin test measures the level of thyroglobulin in your blood. Thyroglobulin is a protein made by your thyroid. The test is mostly used to find out if thyroid cancer treatment has worked.
Thyroglobulin Antibody Test
Also called: Antithyroglobulin Antibody, TGAb
Thyroglobulin is a protein that helps control metabolic functions and production of hormones T3 and T4 in the thyroid gland. Thyroglobulin antibodies are proteins that mistakenly attack the gland, potentially leading to damage, long-term inflammation (thyroiditis) and disruption of thyroid function.
Thyroid-Stimulating Immunoglobulin Test
Also called: TSI, Human Thyroid Stimulator, HTS, Long-acting Thyroid Stimulator, LATS
Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulins (TSIs) are antibodies that mistakenly attack and overstimulate the thyroid gland, potentially leading to damage, long-term inflammation (thyroiditis) and disruption of thyroid function.
Calcitonin Test
Also called: Thyrocalcitonin, Human Calcitonin, hCT
A calcitonin test checks the level of calcitonin, a thyroid hormone, in your blood. Calcitonin helps control the level of calcium in your blood. The test is mainly used to help diagnose and monitor medullary thyroid cancer.
Thyroid Scan and Uptake
Thyroid scan and uptake are two tests that are usually performed together to evaluate your thyroid’s structure and function. To perform these tests a small amount of radioactive material called radiotracer is given to you, and then, images of your thyroid are taken.
Thyroid Ultrasound
Also called: Thyroid Sonogram, Ultrasound - Thyroid
A thyroid ultrasound is a noninvasive, painless, and risk-free imaging test in which an ultrasound machine is used to evaluate your thyroid gland and determine if it has any abnormality.
Ultrasound Scan of a Thyroid Nodule
Image by Nevit Dilmen/Wikimedia
If your health care professional finds a nodule or lump in your neck during a physical exam or on thyroid imaging tests, you may have a fine needle aspiration biopsy to see if the lump is cancerous or noncancerous.
For this test, you will lie on an exam table and slightly bend your neck backward. A technician will clean your neck with an antiseptic and may use medicine to numb the area. An endocrinologist who treats people with endocrine gland problems like thyroid disease, or a specially trained radiologist, will place a needle through the skin and use ultrasound to guide the needle to the nodule. Small samples of tissue from the nodule will be sent to a lab for testing. This procedure usually takes less than 30 minutes. Your health care professional will talk with you about the test result when it is available.
Source: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Thyroid Biopsy
Also called: Thyroid Fine Needle Biopsy, Thyroid Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy, Ultrasound-Guided Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy of the Thyroid
This test tells whether thyroid nodules have normal cells in them. Your doctor may numb an area on your neck. Your doctor will then stick a very thin needle into the thyroid to take out some cells and fluid. A doctor will then look at the cells under a microscope to see if they are normal. Cells that are not normal could mean thyroid cancer.
large single ablation vs multiple small ablation - Thyroid Ablation
Image by Shimjeongseok
Treatment depends on the type of nodule or nodules that you have. Treatments include:
Source: Office on Women's Health (OWH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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