Oral Presentation on Thyroid Gland: Anatomy, Physiology, and Nursing

This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the thyroid gland, beginning with its normal anatomy and physiology, including its location and functions, particularly in hormone production and metabolism. It addresses whether a person can live without a thyroid gland, highlighting the necessity of medication for hormone replacement and the potential health consequences of thyroid hormone deficiency. The presentation emphasizes the gland's relevance to the nursing profession, underscoring the importance of understanding thyroid disorders for patient care, diagnosis, and treatment. It concludes by summarizing the key aspects covered, including the gland's structure, functions, and its critical role in human health, and its implications for future nurses.

ORAL PRESENTATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 Normal anatomy and physiology of thyroid gland
 Location
 Function
 Can a person live without thyroid gland?
 Relevance of Thyroid Gland to the future nurse
profession
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
 Oral presentation is basically short discussion on a specific topic in
any tutorial or seminars. In this, the person need to present views on
the topic specified according to the research or the reading on the
same.
 The report below will focus on the topic thyroid gland and the
related information which can help the nursing profession in the
future also.
 It will shed more light on the anatomy and physiology of the thyroid
gland which will include its location and the functions performed by
the same.
 This will be followed by evaluating that whether a person can live
without a thyroid gland or not.
 Lastly, the relevance of the thyroid gland and its aspects will be
highlighted regarding the nursing profession in future.

NORMAL ANATOMY AND
PHYSIOLOGY OF THYROID
GLAND
 Thyroid gland is basically an endocrine gland in the neck which
consists of two connected lobes.

LOCATION
 Thyroid Gland is a butterfly-shaped organ brownish-red in colour, is
located in the interior of trachea which means inferior to the larynx.
It is rich with blood vessels.
 It is a ductless alveolar gland which is present in the anterior neck
and can be considered to be found below the laryngeal prominence
which is known as Adam’s apple.
 Two lobes are wrapped around the trachea and are also connected to
each other by isthmus.
 The thyroid gland is not considered to be palpable. It is said to have
a rich lymphatic system, suppliers being the inferior and superior
thyroid arteries, drained through the inferior, middle and superior
thyroid veins.
 The thyroid follicles together make the tissue of the thyroid gland.

FUNCTION
 The major function of thyroid gland is producing and storing the
thyroid hormones.
 It is also considered as one of the major regulators of metabolism.
T3 and T4 hormones act through the nuclear receptors in the tissues
which are targeted and take the responsibility of initiating the
various metabolic pathways.
 If there are higher levels of them, then these processes occur faster
and can be considered to be happening more frequently.
 The major thyroid hormone secreted by thyroid gland is the
thyroxin which is also referred as T4. These influence the growth
and development, metabolism and body temperature.
 In the age of childhood especially the infancy age, it helps in the
development of brain.

CAN A PERSON LIVE WITHOUT
THYROID GLAND?
 Yes, a person can live without thyroid gland and thyroid hormones for many
years. Sometimes, many people do not become aware of the fact that their
thyroid is not working.
 They do not even face the symptoms of hypothyroid. But this is must for the
body to take the thyroid hormones from outside because the body can live
without the thyroid hormones just for 4-5 weeks maximum and then they
can face the physical and mental symptoms of the same. They become
unable to function optimally.
 The person if not taking medicines which provide thyroid hormones
artificially can experience the symptoms in the first week of not taking the
proper medication.
 Thyroid hormones play a major role in the body so when there are not
enough thyroid hormones secreted by the thyroid gland, and then it
regulates the various important body functions.
 These type of people whose thyroid gland is unable to secrete enough
hormones need the lifelong replacement by the medications.

CONTINUE…
 So, this can be said that the person can live without the thyroid gland but
only when they regularly take the medication. If the thyroid medication is
not taken regularly, then the hypothyroid symptoms may occur again.
 The more such people live without medication; the severe becomes their
disease which can even lead to life threatening conditions. The person may
feel tired and sluggish along with facing low mood.
 It can also worsen the other health conditions such as depression, type 2-
diabetes and even sleep apnea.
 When the hypothyroidism becomes severe, it can lead to extreme health
events such as myxedema crisis which is considered as the life-threatening
complication. This increases by something like infection in the body.
 This can lead to swelling in the whole body including tongue, lips, face and
limbs. The worst complications can be seizures, shock or coma,
hypothermis, confusion etc. It is also recommended that the person must
have thyroid blood tests regularly and must visit doctor frequently.

RELEVANCE OF THYROID
GLAND TO THE FUTURE NURSE
PROFESSION
 Thyroid gland can be relevant in the nurse profession in future as it can help
in delivering best possible care to the people who are suffering from
problems related to thyroid or thyroid gland.
 The nurses can aware the patients about the importance of thyroid gland in
the body without which it are impossible to live unless taken the medicines
for replacing the hormones.
 This is also considered to be the part of the endocrine system which
includes almost all the glands in the body which helps in regulating the
essential functions of the body.
 The nurses will also be able to diagnose the problems related to thyroid by
seeing the symptoms of the patient.
 They will also come to know about the medicines which can replace the
thyroid hormones which are secreted by the thyroid gland.
 The nurses will be aware of the processes which can be used for the people
whose thyroid gland is unable to secrete enough of thyroid hormones and
the things which can be done for getting back to the normal condition.