Description
The thyroid and parathyroid glands are imaged by a combination of functional and anatomic methods. Functional imaging exploits radio-labelled tracers to give physiological information. Anatomic imaging is mainly achieved with ultrasound, but occasionally requires computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is imperative that any imaging assessment of the thyroid or parathyroids is in the full light of relevant clinical and biochemical findings since, occasionally, there can be some imaging overlap between clinically distinct conditions. This article reviews the role of imaging in commonly encountered conditions of the thyroid and parathyroid glands and provides practical diagnostic pathways.
