Laboratory Diagnosis of Thyroid Disease

Course overview

The thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland that governs the body's metabolic activity, as the hormones produced by the thyroid influence every major system. More than 20 million Americans have some form of thyroid disease, and in many cases it is misdiagnosed or undiagnosed. Women are affected with hypothyroidism 10 times more frequently than men. Up to 30% of woman worldwide have goiters. In women older than 75, an estimated 20% will develop Hashimoto's thyroiditis during their lifetime. Malignancies are another concern; about 18,000 to 20,000 new cases of thyroid cancer are diagnosed every year.