Thyroid

Part of speech: adjective (a.)

1. Shaped like an oblong shield; shield-shaped; as, the thyroid cartilage.

2. Of or pertaining to the thyroid body, thyroid cartilage, or thyroid artery; thyroideal. Thyroid cartilage. See under Larynx. -- Thyroid body, or Thyroid gland (Anat.), a glandlike but ductless body, or pair of bodies, of unknown function, in the floor of the mouth or the region of the larynx. In man and most mammals it is a highly vascular organ, partly surrounding the base of the larynx and the upper part of the trachea. -- Thyroid dislocation (Surg.), dislocation of the thigh bone into the thyroid foramen. -- Thyroid foramen, the obturator foramen.