Abbreviations & Glossary
GD Graves Disease.
​
TED Thyroid Eye Disease.
RAI (Iodine-131) Radioactive iodine. It has a radioactive half life of about eight days and used to kill the thyroid tissues.
TT Total Thyroidectomy
PT Partial Thyroidectomy
ATDs Anti-Thyroid Drugs
​
PTU Propylthiouracil
MMI Methimazole
CMZ Carbimazole (Europe & Asia)
T3 Tri-iodothyronine, is a hormone produced in small amounts by the thyroid gland but actually is derived by metabolism of T4. It affects just about every part of the body - growth and development, metabolism, body temperature and heart rate.
T4 Thyroxine, which is the primary hormone produced by the thyroid gland. It is significant in controlling the metabolic rate and plays a part in pysical development.
TSH Thyroid-stimulating hormone.
TSH activates the production of T3 and T4 which is then released from the pituitary gland. This pathway is regulated via a closed-loop feedback process: Elevated concentrations of T3 and T4 in the blood plasma inhibit the production of TSH in the pituitary gland. As concentrations of these hormones decrease, the pituitary gland increases production of TSH, and by these processes, a feedback control system is set up to regulate the amount of thyroid hormones that are in the bloodstream.
Pituitary Gland is known as the 'master' endocrine gland, both of the lobes are under the control of the hypothalamus. The pituitary gland secretes nine hormones.
Hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of pituitary hormones. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep, and circadian cycles.
Goiter Enlargement of the thyroid gland that is not cancerous and only becomes a problem if it becomes difficult to breathe or swallow.
TFT Thyroid function test.
TRH Thyrotropin-releasing hormone. TSH production is controlled by TRH, which is manufactured in the hypothalamus
TSI Thyroid-stimulating immunoglobin.
T3RIA A radioimmuno assay of T3.
T3RU T3 resin uptake test.
​
RAIU Radioactive iodine uptake test.
​
Thyroglobulin Test: Primarily used as a tumor marker to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for thyroid cancer and to monitor for recurrence. My be ordered prior to the surgical removal of the thyroid gland for cancer. It may also be ordered after the completion of treatment to help determine whether any normal and/or cancerous thyroid tissue may have been left behind. It is often ordered on a regular basis after surgery to make sure that the tumor has not come back or spread. See: http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/thyroglobulin/test.html
The definitions above are taken in part from Wikipedia.org.
​