The thyroid gland normally lies just caudal to the thyroid cartilage in the anterior neck. This location allows an examiner to inspect and palpate this bilobed structure, which in the adult human being weighs from 15 to 25 g. Physical examination of the thyroid gland enables the experienced clinician to construct a rather narrow differential of its anatomical pathology, whereas diagnostic testing (Chapter 142) is frequently necessary to establish the thyroid's functional status.
Copyright © 1990, Butterworth Publishers, a division of Reed Publishing.