What Is Thyroid Gland?
About the Thyroid
Thyroid is an endocrine gland that secretes the hormone thyroxin which helps the body by controlling the metabolism.
The thyroid is a hormone secreting gland. It is an important part of the endocrine system of the human body. The thyroid gland lies just below the "Adam's Apple" (which is the protruding structure of the neck in the front of the body). The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland and is situated in the middle and lower part of the neck, spreading to both sides of the trachea (the windpipe).
The main function of the thyroid gland is to control the metabolism of the body. Metabolism is the rate at which all the cells function to keep the body healthy.
To control the metabolism of the body, the thyroid gland secretes the hormones T4 and T3. These two type of the thyroid hormones regulates the body's cells by "telling" them how much energy they (the cells) can use!
The thyroid gland constantly reproduces these spent hormones. When these thyroid hormones are secreted in the blood stream and are taken to all the important body parts, they are monitored and also are controlled by the pituitary gland which is located at the base of the brain in the skull.
The pituitary gland's hormonal secretions, the TSH, transmits signals to the thyroid gland to increase the thyroid hormones when these thyroid hormone secretions fall below the required levels normally (in physiological conditions). The "TSH" is the abbreviation form for "thyroid-stimulating hormone" and it is called so because of the reason mentioned just above. The synonym of TSH is "thyrotropin", and this thyrotropin is used used for conducting diagnostic test to differentiate the primary hypothyroidism and the secondary hypothyroidism.