With January being “Thyroid Awareness Month”, it is the best time to understand a bit more about one of the hardest working organs that ensures the proper functioning of other bodily functions right from our birth till our final breath.
Our thyroid gland is a small butterfly-shaped organ located at the base of our neck, just below the larynx box or Adam’s apple. This little organ goes a long way in regulating the functions and processes of various systems in our body like digestive system, nervous system, genitourinary system, musculoskeletal system and cardiovascular system. This gland is a very important part of an intricate network of glands (also known as endocrine system) in our body. It makes, stores and releases a hormone that influences every cell, every tissue, every organ and every system in our body.
HOW THE THYROID GLAND WORKS
Let’s assume that our body is a car and the thyroid gland is the engine that sets the pace. Just as the engine produces the required amount of energy for the car to operate at a certain speed, the thyroid gland produces the required amount of thyroid hormone that prompts the body cells to perform a particular function at a certain rate.
Now, a car cannot produce any energy without fuel. Similarly, the thyroid gland requires fuel to produce the thyroid hormone. This fuel is iodine that is absorbed into the bloodstream from our food (like iodized salt, bread, milk, and seafood) to produce two different hormones, namely thyroxine (referred to as T4 due to the presence of 4 atoms of iodine), which is storage or inactive form of thyroid hormone and triiodothyronine (referred to as T3 due to the presence of 3 atoms of iodine), which is the active form of thyroid hormone that increases metabolism. The conversion of T4 to T3 takes place outside the thyroid gland, in certain organs or tissues (like brain, liver, and kidney) where T3 is used the most.
Now moving on, just as we increase the speed of our car by stepping on the accelerator, the thyroid gland gets such messages in the form of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that is released by another gland, known as pituitary gland.
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