(thī'royd‵ )

[thyro- + -oid]

1. The thyroid gland .

   SEE: thyroid gland .

2. The cleaned, dried, and powdered thyroid gland of animals; thyroid extract. Thyroid extract, because of its unpredictable potency, is used only rarely to treat hypothyroidism and goiter.

lingual t.A small nodule of ectopic thyroid tissue located on the dorsal tongue, posterior to the circumvallate papillae. It is caused by failure of developing thyroid tissue to migrate from the area of the foramen cecum to its normal location in the neck.