parathyroid gland

noun

: any of usually four small endocrine glands that are adjacent to or embedded in the thyroid gland and produce parathyroid hormone

Examples of parathyroid gland in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

At a hospital in Brussels in 2019, one patient was fully awake while surgeons removed two parathyroid glands from her throat, while an anesthesiologist asked her to imagine Thanksgiving dinner at home, candles flickering in a windowsill. —Emily Latimer, Longreads, 25 Jan. 2024

Sometimes the parathyroid glands start making too much parathyroid hormone in dialysis patients. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 8 Sep. 2023

The parathyroid gland helps regulate calcium and phosphate, so these need to be checked. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 8 Sep. 2023

The four parathyroid glands sit on top of the thyroid and make a hormone called parathyroid hormone, commonly abbreviated as PTH and unrelated to thyroid hormone. —Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 13 June 2023

An imaging scan showed a hyperactive parathyroid gland. —Damon Tweedy, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2017

But the most common cause is an overactive parathyroid gland in a condition known as hyperparathyroidism. —Damon Tweedy, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2017

Doctors were able to schedule Bersten for a two-hour surgery to remove his left parathyroid gland the next day. —Korin Miller, SELF, 24 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

parathyroid gland

noun

: any of usually four small endocrine glands next to or located in the thyroid gland that produce parathyroid hormone

Medical Definition

parathyroid gland

noun

: any of usually four small endocrine glands that are adjacent to or embedded in the thyroid gland, are composed of irregularly arranged secretory epithelial cells lying in a stroma rich in capillaries, and produce parathyroid hormone