Small glands of the endocrine system which are located in the neck behind the thyroid.
The parathyroid glands are four pea-sized glands located on the thyroid gland in the neck. Occasionally, a person is born with one or more of the parathyroid glands embedded in the thyroid, in the thymus, or located elsewhere around this area. In most such cases, however, the glands function normally. Parathyroidectomy is surgery to remove the parathyroid glands or parathyroid tumors. The parathyroid glands are right behind your thyroid gland in your neck. These glands help your body control the calcium level in the blood. The parathyroid glands are four tiny glands located behind the thyroid gland. The parathyroid glands produce a substance (parathyroid hormone) that helps control the amount of calcium in the blood. The body has four parathyroid glands that are located just behind the thyroid gland (which is the center of the neck at the front). They have nothing to do with the function of the thyroid. (PARA is derived from a Greek word meaning beside, alongside of, by.). The sole purpose of the parathyroid glands is to control calcium within the blood in a very tight range between 8.5 and 10.5. In doing so, parathyroid glands also control how much calcium is in the bones, and therefore, how strong and dense the bones are. The parathyroid glands are four tiny glands, located in the neck, that control the body's calcium levels. Each gland is about the size of a grain of rice (weighs approximately 30 milligrams and is 3-4 millimeters in diameter). Thyroid and Parathyroid Glands. The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland that lies in front of the windpipe (trachea), just below the voice box (larynx). The thyroid gland uses iodine from food to make two thyroid hormones that regulate the way the body uses energy. Parathyroid glands are small glands of the endocrine system which are located in the neck behind the thyroid. Parathyroid glands control the calcium in our bodies--how much calcium is in our bones, and how much calcium is in our blood. Learn what parathyroid glands are, where the parathyroid glands are located, and how the parathyroid glands control our calcium levels. Parathyroid Overview starts on this page. Hyperparathyroidism is introduced. Regulation of blood calcium is discussed along with the meaning of high blood calcium.
http://www.medicinenet.com/hyperparathyroidism/article.htm https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002931.htm http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands http://empoweryourhealth.org/parathyroid-gland http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/parathyroid/parathyroid-function http://endocrinediseases.org/parathyroid/parathyroid_background.shtml http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/thyroid-and-parathyroid-glands http://www.parathyroid.com/parathyroid.htm http://www.parathyroid.com/parathyroid.htm
what is the parathyroid gland