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The thyroid gland consists of left and right lobes connected by a midline isthmus (Figure 1.1). The isthmus lies below the cricoid cartilage, and the lobes extend upward over the lower half of the thyroid cartilage. The thyroid is covered by the strap muscles of the neck and overlapped by the sternocleidomastoids. The pretracheal fascia encloses the thyroid gland and attaches it to the larynx and the trachea. This accounts for the upward movement of the thyroid gland on swallowing. The thyroid gland develops from the floor of the pharynx in the position of the foramen caecum of the adult tongue as a downgrowth that descends into the neck. During this descent, the thyroid gland remains connected to the tongue by the thyroglossal duct, which later disappears. However, aberrant thyroid tissue or thyroglossal cysts (cystic remnants of the thyroglossal duct) may occur anywhere along the course of the duct (Figure 1.2). Such thyroid remnants move upward when the tongue is protruded. The thyroid gland is composed of epithelial spheres called follicles (Figure 1.3), whose lumens are filled with a proteinaceous colloid containing thyroglobulin. Two basic cell types are present in the follicles. The follicular cells secrete thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) and originate from a downward growth of the endoderm of the floor of the pharynx (see above). The parafollicular or C cells secrete calcitonin and arise from neural crest cells that migrate into the developing thyroid gland. The follicles are surrounded by an extensive capillary network.