TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 1. Thyroid Nodule A1 - Suliburk, James A1 - Delbridge, Leigh A2 - Morita, Shane Y. A2 - Dackiw, Alan P. B. A2 - Zeiger, Martha A. PY - 2010 T2 - McGraw-Hill Manual: Endocrine Surgery AB - To treat thyroid disease, it is essential to have a thorough knowledge of its embryology. The thyroid is derived from the primitive pharynx as well as the neural crest with the main body arising from epithelial cells of the endoderm and forming the follicles of the gland. Arising as a diverticulum from the floor of the primitive pharynx, the thyroid transforms into a bilobed structure and descends in the midline of the neck. This tract remains attached to the posterior inferior tongue as the thyroglossal duct, and its distal end may go on to form a pyramidal lobe. This serves as the embryologic basis for the formation of a thyroglossal duct cyst as well as nodules within the pyramidal lobe, and underscores the need to completely excise the thyroglossal tract through the hyoid bone to the level of the foramen cecum when the aforementioned cyst is present. It also requires the surgeon to systematically search for a pyramidal lobe when performing a total thyroidectomy because it is present in 30% to 40% of patients and will be the point of persistent or recurrent disease if not identified at the time of operation.1 SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6162002 ER -