Where is the thyroid gland located and what is thyroiditis?

Medically speaking, the thyroid gland is also an important organ in the human body. The thyroid gland is slightly larger in men. If you just touch it with your hands, you can hardly feel it because the thyroid gland is very small and thin. So, where is the thyroid gland located? What disease does thyroiditis refer to?

Thyroid location

The thyroid gland is located in the front and lower part of the neck, with the sixth tracheal cricoid cartilage behind it and the anterior neck muscle group in front of it. The human thyroid gland begins to appear in the fetal period. After the fetus is born, the thyroid gland develops into two lobes, and the middle part connecting the two lobes is the sulcus. The thyroid gland matures during puberty, weighing 15 to 30 grams, with each lobe 2 to 2.5 cm wide and 4 to 5 cm high. The sulcus is 2 cm wide and 2 cm high.

What is thyroiditis?

Thyroiditis is mostly caused by staphylococcus, streptococcus and viral infections. It is divided into acute thyroiditis, subacute thyroiditis, autoimmune thyroiditis and invasive fibrous thyroiditis.

in:

(1) Acute suppurative thyroiditis:

It is mostly caused by purulent bacterial infection, with symptoms of high fever, severe pain, swelling, fluctuation, redness of the skin, and increased pain when stretching the neck and swallowing.

(2) Subacute thyroiditis:

It is related to upper respiratory tract infection and mumps virus infection, with sudden thyroid pain, moderate swelling, hard texture, accompanied by fever, etc. T3 and T4 increase in the early stage and decrease in the middle stage.

(3) Chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis:

It is an autoimmune disease, which is more common and occurs mostly in women aged 30-50. It is characterized by an enlarged, symmetrical, hard and smooth thyroid gland, accompanied by mild hypothyroidism symptoms.