Are the normal parathyroid glands seen on ultrasound?

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Multiple Choice

Are the normal parathyroid glands seen on ultrasound?

The main idea is that normal parathyroid glands are not expected to be seen on neck ultrasound. They’re very small—only a few millimeters—and lie invariable places behind the thyroid. Their tiny size and variable position make them hard to visualize with standard high-resolution ultrasound, so in a routine scan you don’t usually identify normal parathyroids. You only see them when they’re enlarged or in an ectopic location, which is why ultrasound is used to locate pathologic parathyroids in suspected hyperparathyroidism. So saying that you do not see normal parathyroid glands on ultrasound is the correct takeaway.

The main idea is that normal parathyroid glands are not expected to be seen on neck ultrasound. They’re very small—only a few millimeters—and lie invariable places behind the thyroid. Their tiny size and variable position make them hard to visualize with standard high-resolution ultrasound, so in a routine scan you don’t usually identify normal parathyroids. You only see them when they’re enlarged or in an ectopic location, which is why ultrasound is used to locate pathologic parathyroids in suspected hyperparathyroidism. So saying that you do not see normal parathyroid glands on ultrasound is the correct takeaway.

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