Thyroid dysgenesis thyroid gland may be located anywhere along the path of the descent of the thyroid during its embryological development, although it is most commonly located at the base of the tongue, just posterior to the foramen cecum of the tongue. In this location, an aberrant or ectopic thyroid gland is known as a "lingual thyroid". If the thyroid fails to descend to even higher degree, then the resulting final resting point of the thyroid gland may be high in the neck, such as just below the hyoid bone. Parts of ectopic thyroid tissue ("accessory thyroid tissue") can also occur, and
Papillary thyroid cancer (FNA) for investigation. FNA accuracy is very high and it is a process widely used in these cases. Other investigation methods include ultrasound imaging and nuclear scan. The ultrasound is a useful test to distinguish solid from cystic lesions and to identify calcifications. The thyroid ultrasound is also very effective to discover microcarcinomas, which refer to very small carcinomas (<1 cm). Papillary thyroid carcinomas are also discovered when a hard nodule is found in multinodular goiter, when enlarged cervical lymph nodes are detected, or when there are unidentified metastatic lesions elsewhere in the body. Expanding lesions found in the thyroid