title: The early days of parathyroid surgery.
abstract: The parathyroid endocrine glands, usually four in number and about the size of a split pea, lie on either side of the posterior aspect of the thyroid gland. Occasionally one or more of these structures are found in an aberrant position in the neck or even in the superior mediastinum. The parathyroid secretion, parathormone, regulates the level of serum calcium within sharply defined limits. Lack of parathormone, with lowering of the serum calcium, results in hyper-irritability of skeletal muscle, the clinical condition known as tetany. This is encountered following inadvertent removal or bruising of the parathyroid glands at thyroidectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, University of London, Guys Campus, London, SE11 UL.
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ellis
mesh_terms: D013502:General Surgery / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010280:Parathyroid Glands / Q000601:surgery*