The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland, which is located in the front and lower part of the neck (as shown in figure 1). Its main function is to regulate our metabolism.
Figure 1. Butterfly thyroid. (Photo/provided by Yadong Hospital) Thyroid nodules refer to the masses in the thyroid gland (as shown in Figure 2), which are quite common. The incidence increases linearly with age. By the age of 60, about half of people have thyroid nodules. At present, the etiology is not clear, and it is believed that heredity is related to the environment. It was found that the incidence of familial thyroid nodules was higher than normal, which was generally considered to be related to autoimmune thyroiditis and iodine deficiency. In the past, radiation, smoking and long-term intake of a large number of "tumors" in the head and neck may be related to the occurrence of thyroid nodules. The vast majority of thyroid nodules are benign, but 5% are still malignant and cannot be ignored.
Figure 2. Thyroid nodules. (Photo/provided by Yadong Hospital) What are the symptoms of thyroid nodules?
Thyroid nodules are usually asymptomatic, and are usually found by accident during routine health examination or imaging examination, especially due to other diseases such as computed tomography (CT) scanning or neck ultrasound examination.
Symptoms of thyroid nodules
? Asymptomatic (most common)
? Neck swelling
? Dyspnea; Respiratory distress; dyspnea; respiratory distress; breathing difficulties
? dysphagia
? A persistent cough not caused by a cold.
? Neck, jaw or ear pain
? Hoarseness (beware of malignant tumor)
? The lump on the neck grows quickly (beware of malignant tumor)