Thyroid

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Author: Mikael Häggström [note 1]

Presentations

Fixation

Generally 10% neutral buffered formalin. Fix all thyroids at least overnight to avoid artifactual nuclear atypia.[1]

  See also: General notes on fixation


Removal during autopsy

Parathyroid glands (white arrow), next to the thyroid gland.

Sharply dissect the thyroid from the cartilage, starting at the posterior end of each lobe & working forward. Do not cut the isthmus. Try to find parathyroids.

Gross processing of thyroidectomy

  • Weigh.[2] Up to 30 g versus over 30 g grams is an accepted cutoff between normal and increased weight of the thyroid gland.[3]
  • Measure each lobe and isthmus in 3 dimensions, respectively.[2]
  • Ink outer surface,[2] at least if malignancy is suspected.[4]

Serially section the specimen at 3-4mm intervals,[5] such as follows:[2]

  See also: General notes on gross processing


Thyroid cytology

Initially, check for adequacy of the sample. A minimum number of 6 clusters with 10 cells each has been arbitrary established to assume adequacy for a definitive diagnosis.[6] The presence of characteristic cells may still confer a definitive diagnosis, but otherwise, the report will simply state inadequate number of cells.

See also

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 Separate coloring allows to distinguish the thyroid margin (continuous with the other lobe) from the peripheral margin (towards soft tissues).
  1. For a full list of contributors, see article history. Creators of images are attributed at the image description pages, seen by clicking on the images. See Patholines:Authorship for details.

Main page

References

  1. . Gross Pathology Manual By The University of Chicago Department of Pathology. Updated 2-14-19 NAC.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 . Gross Pathology Manual By The University of Chicago Department of Pathology. Updated 2-14-19 NAC.
  3. Shamim, A; Monira, K; Manowara, B; Sabiha, M; Alim, A; Nurunnabi, ASM (1970). "Weight of the Human Thyroid Gland – A Postmortem Study ". Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science 9 (1): 44–48. doi:10.3329/bjms.v9i1.5230. ISSN 2076-0299. 
    - In turn citing: Langer P. Discussion about the limit between normal thyroid and goiter: mini review. Endocrine regulations. 1999 March; 33(1): 39-45.
  4. Monica Dahlgren, Janne Malina, Anna Måsbäck, Otto Ljungberg. Stora utskärningen. KVAST (Swedish Society of Pathology). Retrieved on 2019-09-26.
  5. . THYROID. Royal College of pathologists of Australia. Retrieved on 2019-12-17.
  6. Michael, Claire W.; Pang, Yijun; Pu, Robert T.; Hasteh, Farnaz; Griffith, Kent A. (2007). "Cellular adequacy for thyroid aspirates prepared by ThinPrep: How many cells are needed? ". Diagnostic Cytopathology 35 (12): 792–797. doi:10.1002/dc.20768. ISSN 87551039. 

Image sources