The thyroid gland
Thyroid gland · glandula thyroidea
A butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that sets the pace of your metabolism.
What it does
The thyroid wraps around the front of the windpipe just below the Adam's apple. It uses iodine from your diet to make thyroid hormones, which set how fast your cells burn energy and affect heart rate, body temperature, weight and mood.
Surprising fact
Before iodine was added to salt, large swollen thyroids, called goitres, were common in inland areas where food contained little iodine.
Why it matters
An underactive thyroid can make you tired, cold and slow; an overactive one can make you anxious, hot and thin. A simple blood test checks it.
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.