Ectopic thyroid
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Frank Gaillard had no recorded disclosures.
View Frank Gaillard's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Mohammad Taghi Niknejad had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.
View Mohammad Taghi Niknejad's current disclosures- Ectopic thyroid gland
- Dual ectopic thyroid
- Accessory thyroid gland
An ectopic thyroid gland is one which is located in a location other than the normal position anterior to the laryngeal cartilages.
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Terminology
Ectopic tissue refers to the tissue located outside its normal anatomical position whereas accessory tissue refers to extra tissue located remotely from a normally positioned gland 6,7.
Variant anatomy
During embryological development, the thyroid gland migrates down from the foramen cecum at the posterior aspect of the tongue to its permanent location in the infrahyoid neck. This normal migration can be halted at any point, or indeed can go 'off-target' with thyroid tissue coming to rest in unusual locations within the neck or elsewhere 4:
lingual: base of tongue (90%)
sublingual: below the tongue
prelaryngeal
other sites, e.g. mediastinum (<1%), intratracheal
Thyroid tissue may also be present in the normal thyroid bed, so-called "dual ectopic thyroid" 4.
Congenital hypothyroidism is common in patients with ectopic thyroid, requiring life-long hormone replacement. While the mechanism is incompletely understood, it has been suggested that maternal antithyroid antibodies may disturb the gland's descent and predispose the child to the development of dysthyroidism 8.
Radiographic features
As imaging findings (other than location) are identical irrespective of location, the discussion on ectopic thyroids is continued as part of the lingual thyroid article.
References
- 1. Tore A. Larheim, Per-Lennart A. Westesson. Maxillofacial Imaging. (2008) ISBN: 9783540786856 - Google Books
- 2. Leon Barnes. Surgical Pathology of the Head and Neck. (2001) ISBN: 9780824701093 - Google Books
- 3. Robert B. Lufkin, Alexandra Borges, Pablo Villablanca. Teaching Atlas of Head and Neck Imaging. (2000) ISBN: 9780865776913 - Google Books
- 4. Roh E, Hong E, Ahn H et al. A Case of Mediastinal Ectopic Thyroid Presenting with a Paratracheal Mass. Korean J Intern Med. 2013;28(3):361-4. doi:10.3904/kjim.2013.28.3.361 - Pubmed
- 5. Susan Standring. Gray's Anatomy. (2015) ISBN: 9780702052309 - Google Books
- 6. Hollander E, Visser M, van Baalen J. Accessory Thyroid Gland at Carotid Bifurcation Presenting as a Carotid Body Tumor: Case Report and Review of the Literature. J Vasc Surg. 2004;39(1):260-2. doi:10.1016/j.jvs.2003.07.018 - Pubmed
- 7. R. Shane Tubbs, Mohammadali M. Shoja, Marios Loukas. Bergman's Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation. (2016) ISBN: 9781118430354 - Google Books
- 8. Mariani M, Palpacelli A, Mussoni A, Rossodivita A. Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: An Accidental Discovery of a Lingual Thyroid in a 7-Year-Old Child. Case Reports. 2013;2013(aug21 1):bcr2013200247. doi:10.1136/bcr-2013-200247 - Pubmed
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- Thyroglossal duct
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- Mediastinal ectopic thyroid tissue
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- Ectopic thyroid - anterior mediastinum
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- Thyroid hemiagenesis
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- Ectopic thyroid
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- Ectopic thyroid gland
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