Thyroid Gland
Kasey Mull and Abby Pennington
Structure
- Butterfly shaped
- Has 2 side lobes, connected by the isthmus
- Sits at the front of the neck below the Adam's apple
Location
- The anterior portion of the neck
- In front of the trachea
- Below the larynx
Function
- It takes iodine (found in foods) and convert it into thyroid hormones
- Regulates metabolism, heart rate, energy consumed
- These functions are controlled under the pituitary gland, when our thyroid hormones drop too low, it produces thyroid stimulating hormone to increase production of thyroid hormones
Specialized Cells
- Follicular Epithelial Cells: are the only cells that can absorb iodine in the body
- C-Cells: are cells that secrete the hormone calcitonin
Hormones and their Functions
- Calcitonin- acts to reduce blood calcium
- Thyroxine (T3)- stimulates consumption of oxygen resulting in increase metabolism
Triiodothyronine- (T4) maintains metabolism, heart rate, muscle control, brain development and bone growth. There is a higher production of this hormone compared to the other ones (80%).