Thyroid Nodules Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Adenoma: A benign tumor that arises in or resembles glandular tissue. If an adenoma become...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Aspirate: To suck in. A patient may aspirate for example by accidentally drawing material ...

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also re...

Atypical: Unusual, or not fitting a single diagnostic
category.

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Autopsy: A postmortem examination. Also known as necropsy.

Benign: Not malignant. A benign tumor is one that does not invade surrounding tissue or sp...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Calcitonin: A hormone produced by the thyroid gland that lowers the levels of calcium and ...

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a deta...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Cyst: A closed sac or capsule, usually filled with fluid or semisolid material.

Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liqui...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Endocrine: Pertaining to hormones and the glands that make and secrete them into the blood...

Enlarged thyroid: see goiter.

Esophagus: The tube that connects the pharynx (throat) with the stomach. The esophagus lie...

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Fine needle aspiration: The use of a thin needle to withdraw material from the body for an...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Gland: A group of cells that secrete a substance for use in the body. For example, the thy...

Goiter: A noncancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland. With a goiter, the levels of thyr...

Graves' disease: Generalized diffuse overactivity ("toxicity") of the entire thyroid gland...

Hashimoto thyroiditis: A progressive disease of the thyroid gland characterized by the pre...

Hoarseness: Hoarseness is a term referring to abnormal voice changes. Hoarseness may be ma...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

Hormone therapy: Treatment of disease or symptoms with synthetic or naturally derived horm...

Hyperplasia: An increase in the number of normal cells in a tissue or an organ. Hyperplasi...

Hypothyroid: Deficiency of thyroid hormone which is normally made by the thyroid gland wh...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Iodine: An element in the diet that is essential for the manufacture of hormones by the th...

Iron: An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin ...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Lubricant: An oily or slippery substance. A vaginal lubricant may be helpful for women who...

Lymph: The almost colorless fluid that travels through the lymphatic system, carrying cell...

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Magnetic resonance imaging: A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer t...

Malignancy: A tumor that is malignant (cancerous), that can invade and destroy nearby tiss...

Malignant: 1. Tending to be severe and become progressively worse, as in malignant ...

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Menstruation: The periodic blood that flows as a discharge from the uterus. Also called me...

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Neoplasia: Abnormal new growth of cells.

Neoplasm: A tumor.

Nodule: A small collection of tissue that is palpable (can be felt) at any level of the sk...

Nuclear medicine: The branch of medicine concerned with the use of radioisotopes in the di...

Oncogene: 1. A gene that played a normal role in the cell as a proto-oncogene and t...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Pathologist: A physician who identifies diseases and conditions by studying abnormal cells...

Prenatal: Occurring or existing before birth.

Probe: (1) In surgery, a probe is a slender flexible rod with a blunt end used to e...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Radioactive iodine: An isotope of the chemical element iodine that is radioactive. Radioa...

Radioisotope: A version of a chemical element that has an unstable nucleus and emits radia...

Radiologist: A physician specialized in radiology, the branch of medicine that uses ionizi...

Radionuclide: An unstable form of a chemical element that radioactively decays, resulting ...

Radionuclide scan: An examination that produces pictures of internal parts of the body. T...

Radiotherapy: The treatment of disease with ionizing radiation. Also called radiation ther...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Thyroid cancer: Cancer of the gland in front of the neck that normally produces thyroid ho...

Thyroid gland: A gland that makes and stores hormones that help regulate the heart rate, b...

Thyroid hormone: A chemical substance made by the thyroid gland for export into the bloods...

Thyroid hormones: Chemical substances made by the thyroid gland, which is located in the...

Thyroid scan: An image taken of a patient's thyroid gland after the patient swallows radio...

Thyroid stimulating hormone: A hormone produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the...

Thyroidectomy: Surgery to remove part or all of the thyroid gland. Thyroidectomy might be ...

Thyroiditis: Inflammation of the thyroid gland which is located in front of the neck:

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Tobacco smoking: The direct inhalation of tobacco smoke, the basis of major health hazards...

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

TSH: Thyroid stimulating hormone.

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...