Glossary of Terms
- topAddison's Disease
- Disease resulting from deficiency in the secretion of adrenocortical hormones1.
- topAutoimmune disease
- Any disorder in which loss of function or destruction of normal tissue arises from humoral or cellular immune responses of the individual to his own tissue constituents; may be systemic, as systemic lupus erythematosus, or organ specific, as thyroiditis2.
- topEndocrinologist
- A physician who specializes in endocrinology3.
- topEndocrinology
- The science and medical specialty concerned with the internal or hormonal secretions and their physiologic and pathologic relations2.
- topEuthyroid
- Pertaining to a normal thyroid gland3.
- topExophthalmia
- Abnormal protrusion of the eyeball1.
- topGoiter
- An enlargement of the thyroid gland, possibly due to a lack of iodine in the diet, thyroiditis, inflammation from infection, tumors, or hyperfunction or hypofunction of the thyroid gland1.
- topGrave's Disease
- Toxic goiter characterized by diffuse hyperplasia of the thyroid gland, a form of hyperthyroidism; exophthalmos is a common, but not invariable, concomitant2.
- topHashimoto's Disease
- A form of autoimmune thyroiditis that affects women eight times more often than men. Clinically there is an enlarged thyroid and hypothyroidism. The treatment is life-long replacement therapy with thyroid hormone1.
- topHyperthyroidism
- A disease of unknown etiology marked by sustained overproduction of thyroxine by the thyroid gland1.
- topHypothalamus
- A portion of the diencephalon of the brain, forming the floor and part of the lateral wall of the third ventricle. It activates, controls, and integrates the peripheral autonomic nervous system, endocrine processes, and many somatic functions, such as body temperature, sleep, and appetite3.
- topHypothyroidism
- A condition due to deficient thyroid secretion, resulting in a lowered basal metabolism; a lesser degree of cretinism1.
- topLevothyroxine sodium
- A thyroid hormone. It is indicated as a replacement or supplemental therapy in congenital or acquired hypothyroidism and in the treatment or prevention of various types of euthyroid goiters. (click to view available dosage strengths).
- topPituitary gland
- An endocrine gland suspended beneath the brain in the pituitary fossa of the sphenoid bone, supplying numerous hormones that govern many vital processes. The anterior lobe of the gland is composed of polygonal cells related to the production of seven hormones. The hormones, controlled by hypothalamic releasing factors, include growth hormone (somatotropin), prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and melanocyte-stimulating hormone3.
- topThyroid Function Test
- A test for evidence of increased or decreased thyroid function, including a clinical physical examination and a variety of laboratory tests. Some of the more common tests are based on direct or indirect determination of the two thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine (T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4). Also frequently used are tests on radioactive iodine uptake by the thyroid1.
- topThyroid
- An endocrine gland in the neck, anterior to and partially surrounding the thyroid cartilage and upper rings of the trachea1.
- topThyroiditis
- Inflammation of the thyroid gland1.
- topThyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
- A hormone secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary that stimulates the thyroid gland to secrete thyroxine and triiodothyronine1.
- topThyroxine (T4)
- A hormone of the thyroid gland, derived from tyrosine, that influences metabolic rate. Also called tetraiodothyronine3.
- topTriiodothyronine (T3)
- One of two forms of the principal hormones secreted by the thyroid gland1.
