the parathyroid is located in the kidney of the human body.
the parathyroid is located in the kidney of the human body.
where is the parathyroid located in the human body?
kidney
if a patient has elevated calcium, several different types of tests can be used to locate the abnormal glands. the most common and most accurate test to find a parathyroid tumor is the sestamibi scan. the sestamibi scan does not have high resolution. neck ultrasound has higher resolution, but requires some expertise to perform. ultrasound's shortcomings include: it cannot determine glandular function (normal vs. hyperfunctioning) or visualize unusual locations such as retropharyngeal or mediastinal. thin cut computed tomography of the neck can reveal glands in locations that the ultrasound cannot evaluate well; e.g. retropharyngeal, mediastinal. these tests are ordered by an endocrinologist or a surgeon that specializes in parathyroid surgery. often, these "localizing" tests used to "find" the bad parathyroid gland are not successful in locating which parathyroid gland has become a tumor. this often causes confusion for the patient and doctor, since the tumor was not located. this simply means that the tumor was not found using these tests; it does not mean the tumor does not exist. the use of ultrasound-guided fna, and parathyroid hormone washings can confirm the abnormal glands. for decades, it has been known that the best way to find a parathyroid tumor is through a very experienced parathyroid surgeon.
parathyroid disease
imaging is not as reliable in patients with multiglandular parathyroid disease. in addition, size limitation of the abnormal gland can limit the detection by radionuclide scanning. spect (three-dimensional) imaging, as an adjunct to planar methods, may increase sensitivity and accuracy, especially in cases of small or parathymic adenomas. by using a gamma camera in nuclear medicine, the radiologist is able to determine if one of the four parathyroid glands is hyperfunctioning, if that is the cause of the hyperparathyroidism. theoretically, the hyperfunctioning parathyroid gland will take up more of the tc99m-sestamibi, and will show up 'brighter' than the other normal parathyroid glands on the gamma camera pictures, especially because of the internal biofeedback loop within the body with calcium inherently feeding back to calcium-receptors and inhibiting parathyroid hormone production within the normal parathyroid glands. sometimes this determination must be made three or four hours later when activity taken up by the thyroid and normal parathyroid glands fade away; the abnormal parathyroid gland retains its activity, while the radiopharmaceutical is eluted out of the normal thyroid gland. in patients with nodular goiter or functional tumors of the thyroid gland, increased uptake of the sestamibi agent is possible and makes parathyroid localization difficult or confusing.
sestamibi parathyroid scintigraphy